Red vs Blue: Reimagining
by Jerem6401
Summary: This is my view on season 11 of Red vs Blue... or at least what happened after the events of Season 10. Carolina and Church are reclaiming lost pieces of Freelancer tech, when they run into a returning Freelancer and his plans to carry on the legacy of the Director.
1. Chpt 1: From the Past

"But why would they copy them?" a voice echoed down the halls. "I thought they were specific programs that only an AI could run?" Footsteps rung out in a rhythmic beat in the metal corridors of the massive complex. A single soldier, dressed in teal colored armor cautiously moved ahead. Carolina stopped at an intersection and backed up against the wall. She quickly stepped out and aimed her assault rifle down the perpendicular, but eerily similar, dark hallway. When no life came into view, she relaxed her stance again and continued forward.

"That was at first, when the enhancers were just experimental," Carolina replied. "These pieces of equipment were dangerous without proper field testing, so using an AI to run them made it safer and more reliable." There was a bright flash, which illuminated the hallway for a brief moment. Tiny, spinning balls of light surrounded Carolina's head and slowly collapsed into a single entity, and formed the shape of a human, floating over Carolina's shoulder.

"So the soldiers and the AI weren't the only part of Project Freelancer?" Church questioned. Carolina lifted her left arm and looked down at her gauntlet, where a screen displayed her current location within the building, and the location of the target.

"The equipment," she began, "was actually more of an afterthought. The Director needed some way of looking like a legitimate, and legal, project to the board, without mentioning the creation of the AIs. He just told them he was making enhancers for our armor, and the necessary programs to run them." The two were approaching the target location. Carolina had received intel that there was copied equipment from Project Freelancer in this building, and a heist was planned for it. She wasn't just here to stop it, but to take that equipment for herself.

"I'm surprised I still have to explain this stuff to you," Carolina started. "After all we've been through, I thought you would have remembered everything by now." Church was blinking in and out, trying to stay as faded as possible so he wouldn't give away Carolina's position in the darkness.

"To be honest," he replied, "I've stopped trying."

"Why is that?"

"Two reasons. The first, is that I don't need to remember anything else. I prefer my memories as Leonard Church, the former leader of the blue team who was constantly annoyed and killed by his moron teammates, than the memories of Leonard Church, Director of Project Freelancer." Carolina smiled under her helmet.

"And what's the second reason?" she asked.

"The second reason… is I just don't give a fuck." Carolina kept walking, when Church suddenly lit up, twice as bright. "Woah! You got movement on your radar. Behind you!" Carolina spun around and pointed her rifle down the hall. A man stood at the other end. He was wearing armor, but the shadows hid any details other than that.

"Not a single move," Carolina hissed. "Church!" Church ran around to the front of Carolina.

"Yeah?"

"Give me some light on him," she commanded. Church disappeared and a high-pitch wine came from Carolina's helmet. A bright floodlight activated from the side of her helmet and shined down the hall. The man's light blue and yellow armor came into view and reflected onto the walls around him. He put up his hands and shrugged.

"What can I say?" he asked, "I got curious."

"Wash?" Carolina questioned as she lowered her gun. Church reappeared on her shoulder and the floodlight dimmed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded. "Where is Tucker and Caboose? How did you know where we were?" Carolina put up her hand, calming Church down.

"Relax," she reassured, "how do you think I get my information."

"I held onto my recovery beacon after the UNSC swept the Avalanche base," Washington stated. "It goes off whenever a piece of Freelancer equipment is either damaged… or in this case, activated. AS for Tucker and Caboose, they'll be fine. When I left I think they were surrendering to the red team again."

"What? I thought that didn't happen anymore since you showed up!" Church yelled.

"Meh, I sit the fights out every now and again," Washington replied, "keeps it fresh."

"So, what'd they give the Reds this time?"

"Nothing, I don't think. The Reds just told Caboose he has to stand on his head for the next few days."

"Days?" Carolina asked.

"Oh, quit your bitching," Church responded. "Some extra blood to his head is probably a good thing."

"I told you I didn't need help on this one," Carolina said sternly to Washington, changing the subject.

"I know," Washing replied. "But this beacon… this one is different."

"How is it different?" she asked.

"There's no records on what this equipment is. We got a signal saying it was just activated, when the readings indicate whatever it is has been running for years. It looks more like something that's been kept under our radar, rather than stored."

"Then that's all the more reason to find it, Wash," Carolina stated. "I intercepted a transmission talking about a soldier breaking in to steal some tech. I'm not letting them get a hold of my father's work. No one has that right other than me."

"I understand," Washington replied. "I didn't come here to stop you." He reached over his shoulder and grabbed his battle rifle. He held it by his side and nodded to Carolina. "I just thought you needed some backup." Carolina looked Washington up and down, before turning back down the hallway. The light on her helmet flashed on once again, revealing a massive, metal door in front of her.

"Target is in the next room, Carolina," Church called out. "I'll see if I can override the security codes on the door."

"Well, just keep an eye on the target, Church," she replied. "Other than that you're doing a great job running my armor." There was a silence before Church reappeared at Carolina's shoulder.

"I'm getting mixed signals here," he stated. Carolina titled her head to the side and shrugged.

"No, I mean it," she stated. "I might seem mean sometimes, but I really appreciate your…"

"No! Idiot!" Church yelled back. "The signal from the target, it's getting all mixed up."

"Asshole," Carolina muttered.

"Back at you."

"What do you mean it's mixed up?" Washington asked.

"The target signal seems to be moving around in the next room… but another one just appeared on the radar. I don't know what's going on in that room… but something's definitely happening."

"It's got to be the soldier!" Carolina yelled. "Church get that door open!" The red lights around the door flashed twice before changing to green. The circle in the center of the door spun clockwise a few times, before the entire door separated into four panels and slid into the walls. Carolina and Washington ran into the next room and lifted their weapons. Before them was a massive wall of computer screens, all flashing footage from security cameras everywhere in the complex. In front of that was a large metal crate. Carolina and Washington instantly recognized it. Memories flooded their minds. Making their way to the top of that massive building to secure this chest. Kicking Maine out of the window to hoist it to the rooftop. Plummeting down with the rubble of the skyscraper, just to make sure the chest got to safety. This wasn't just a chest… it was the Sarcophagus.

"Is that what I think it is?" Washington asked.

"Church, what readings are you getting from this thing?" Carolina asked. She waited for a moment, but no response came. "Church!" Still nothing. "Alpha!" A few flashes of light blinked next to Carolina's helmet, and Church appeared on her shoulder. He was a blue tone, with flashes of purple emitting from his form. "Church?" Carolina asked, concerned. He stared at the Sarcophagus and didn't make a single move, like he couldn't hear Carolina at all. Washington stepped up next to them and put a hand on Carolina's shoulder. He moved her back, but Church stayed locked in his position.

"Epsilon…" Washington began. Church turned his head and looked at Washington. Even their visors couldn't stop their eyes from contacting one another… like two friends who were just now reuniting.

"This is it, David," he said slowly. "This is where it all happened. That's what did it." Washington turned and looked at the Sarcophagus. "That is where we were split… fragmented… tortured."

"Impossible," Carolina chimed in. "The Sarcophagus was destroyed in the EMP with all of the other AI."

"IT WASN'T!" Church screamed at her. He turned a pale white in color and his voice dropped in pitch. "It was never there!"

"But why?" Washington asked. "Why did the Director have it separated."

"To carry on his legacy," a voice replied. Carolina and Washington turned to their left, where a man stood in the shadows of the room. They lifted their weapons and aimed them right at the figure.

"Freeze!" Carolina yelled. "There's no way you're stealing this tech. Now back off!" Washing reached up and nudged Carolina in the back, but she shook him off. "Not now, Wash!" He did it again and Carolina titled her head towards him. "What?!" Washington pointed to the Sarcophagus and shook his head.

"That's not the tech that was setting off the beacon," he replied. Carolina slightly lowered her weapon and turned completely to look at Washington. He redirected his point to the man in the shadows. "That's the tech." The man lifted his arms into the air, as if showing off.

"What can I say?" he started, "I was given some pretty nifty toys. It wasn't easy staying off your radar this long… but it was necessary."

"Who are you and where did you get that armor?" Carolina interrogated. The man stepped forward and the light flooded over him. He was wearing dark blue armor, with white details. He had on a standard Security style helmet, with Mark VI armor everywhere else. One of his arms was completely exposed from the shoulder to just below the elbow, where his Mark VI gauntlet began.

"This armor?" he asked. "A gift from your father, dear Caroline."

"Mass?!" she cried. "What… what are you… no… no you can't…" Mass folded his arms and looked towards the Sarcophagus.

"Surprised?" he asked, in a snarky tone. "I thought you might be."

"I was there!" Washington shouted. "I was there when Mass was killed in battle! You aren't the original Agent Massachusetts!"

"Oh, but I am, David," he replied. "The Director thought it would act in his favor to keep someone under wraps." Mass walked closer to Carolina, looking her right in the eyes. "Someone he could trust."

"Why?" Carolina asked, grinding her teeth together. This was just another thing to her. Another thing her father lied about and kept from her.

"Because he knew!" Mass yelled back. "He knew you Freelancers would betray him! Throw away everything he gave to you!"

"You don't understand!" Washington began. "You don't know what he did here! What he did to the Alpha program! I was given the memories, Mass! I knew right from the start the horrors…"

"You think you were alone!?" Mass screamed. He walked closer to Washington. The massive Freelancer had to look down in order to stare into Washington's visor. "You think you were the only one who knew what was happening here? So you got the Alpha's memories… big deal! A couple flashing pictures in your head and it's poor Agent Washington!"

"Flashing pictures?! I suffered through each one of…"

"Don't talk to me about suffering, Washington!"

"What are you getting at?" Carolina questioned. "Why are you back, and what do you want with the Sarcophagus!" Mass turned back to look at her and shook his head.

"I'm going to do what the Director never could," he replied. "What the 'almighty' Chairman never allowed him to do. The Meta became the most powerful soldier on the planet by utilizing six AI units at once. I'm going to use the Sarcophagus to replicate his actions."

"You're out of your mind!" Washington yelled. "The Meta went crazy with all those AIs in his head. And you would torture the Alpha all over again just to get the fragments back?!"

"No you idiot!" Mass yelled. "I don't want six fragments running my equipment! I want what the Director was never allowed to have. I don't want to split the Alpha… I want to copy it!"

"Well that won't happen," Washington snapped back. "You think you understand the Alpha? Who he is, and what he went through?! I had the memories, Mass, and Carolina is the daughter of the man he was based on. We can relate to the Alpha. If he can't relate to you, then he will never help you, not one Alpha, and not six."

"You don't get it do you?" he asked, almost sounding shocked. "You think I can't relate to the Alpha? I was the first, Washington. I was the first Freelancer. Your father, Carolina, approached me while I was enlisted in the UNSC. I never had a family. I was abandoned young, and drafted young. Your father took me in, told me he could make stronger, better… the best soldier the world had ever seen. He had an idea for an experimental group of super-soldiers, called the Freelancers… and I would be the first. When information about the AI programs reached him, he decided to stage my death, in case the Freelancers couldn't handle this new power, and rebelled against him." Mass turned back to Washington and pointed a finger at him. "So I know what happened. He tortured and split the Alpha to make the AIs. And he told all of you, that the first AI he made was Gamma."

"Which went to Wyoming," Carolina stated.

"Are you idiots?!" Mass questioned. "That's not the first AI he fragmented. You think the first thing an AI would have to split in order to survive would be its deceit?!"

"What's your point?" Church asked. He reappeared on Carolina's shoulder, seemingly returned to his normal state.

"So you're here, Alpha?" Mass asked. "Good. Maybe you can tell them the first thing that was fragmented from you." Carolina slowly turned to look at Church, who had his head turned away from the others. She sighed and looked back at Mass.

"He doesn't remember everything, Mass," she replied. "When he was segmented, his memory was destroyed. He can't…"

"I know," Church said quietly. Carolina stopped and looked back at him.

"Church?" she asked, almost in a whisper. He looked up at Mass and sighed.

"The first thing they split from me," he began. "I hurt so bad… I just had to make it stop… I had to shed… the pain." Suddenly, sparks began to emit from Mass's shoulder. Carolina and Washington stepped away, but Mass remained perfectly still. Church didn't move either, and instead slowly looked up at Mass's shoulder, knowing what was coming. The sparks grew into small bolts of lightning, which eventually molded into the shape of a person. The figure was made of electricity, and yellow sparks were constantly erupting from its edges."

"Hello, Alpha," it said in a raspy voice. "It is nice to finally meet you." Church cringed for a moment, then closed his eyes and looked away.

"This is my AI, Washinton. This is the Beta. This is the Alpha's pain."


	2. Chpt 2: Prepare to Attack

The sun was still at a high noon, like it ever left that point. The sky was a mix of purple and blues with small clouds floating by, which shined with reflected light every time one of the two bases in the canyon fired its relay into the heavens. The sounds of the waterfall in the distance were calming, and birds were singing happy tunes. It was time to relax in this canyon… time to rest.

"Got ya!" a voice cried, breaking the silence. Grif snapped out of his relaxation and was greeted with the barrel of a gun, aimed directly at his forehead. He rolled quickly to his side and reached for his weapon, but fumbled and instead knocked it away in the tall grass. This was it… the enemy had finally caught him. A heavy boot dropped down in front of his face and he looked up to see a soldier, the sun behind him caused the soldier to be drowned in a dark shadow. Grif put his hands over his head and curled up on the ground.

"Please don't kill me!" he pleaded. The soldier sighed and lowered his weapon.

"You damned coward!" Sarge yelled. "If I were an actual enemy who hated your guts, and not a friendly ally who hates your guts, you would be six feet underground. In two pieces. Under two grounds. Both six feet under. Or one big grave to hold all your newly dismembered body parts, but put twelve feet underground… or more… depending on the number of parts of you I could explode from your torso with one shotgun round. Six feet for each part. Simmons!"

"Yes, sir?" Simmon called from the base.

"Get on that math, I want that answer SA'd on the ASAP! Squared away! Donut!"

"Awaiting orders, buddy."

"Mark SA'd down as a new abbreviation. And enough with the informality! I'm your Sergeant, damn it! Your job is to keep an eye on the Blues and listen for any snappy new abbreviations I come up with. Abbreviation dictation I call it. AD… jot it down. Grif!" Grif slowly got to his feet and brushed off his armor. "Enough with the polish work, Misty! Get back to cowering, I like you better that way. On the ground in a fetal position at the end of my shotgun… as God intended!"

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Grif screamed.

"Oh don't worry, pal," another voice chimed in, "all the Oreos and cigarettes you take in daily should handle that for you." Doc turned back to red base and looked at the jeep, hoisted up in the air, with massive repairs made to it. "By the way, the jeep looks great! How'd you get it back from the Blues? I thought they took it away last time you guys surrendered?"

"Didn't you hear?" Simmons asked as he walked over the huddled group. "Washington left. Not sure why, though."

"Damn it!" Sarge yelled. "The Blues are reuniting! This is terrible news!"

"Terrible news?" Grif asked. "They guy who kicks our ass on a daily basis left… and it's terrible news? Also how is this 'news' at all? Haven't you noticed we weren't attacked for like four days."

"This happened four days ago?! There could be a massive blue army ready to attack us already on the way!"

"No, there isn't," Grif replied.

"Why wasn't I told four days ago, so we could prepare for the inevitable blue assault on all things we hold dear and cherish?!" Sarge cried.

"Sir, I told you about this right when it happened!" Simmons replied. "Remember? I said 'Washington's gone, I don't know when he'll be back' and you shot your gun in the air in celebration."

"No! I saw a bird that looked like Grif. I couldn't be bothered with whatever you were going on about. I see that little sqwuacker flying around here looking all lazy and orange, shirking away from his duties and clearly ignoring his superiors. The worst part is I missed him, and it also explains why my shotgun was out of ammo when I fired at the real non-bird Grif just now."

"What?!" Grif cried.

"You tried to shoot Grif with live ammo?" Donut asked. "Why wouldn't you just use blanks and simulate and attack… instead of actually attacking him?"

"Why would I waste perfectly good blanks on a training session?" Sarge replied. "Live ammo makes the situation more real and believable. Besides, without blanks how are you going to keeps the birds away from your garden, Donut?"

"True," Donut began, "our scare-Lopez doesn't seem to be working." The Reds all looked towards a small garden next to the red base. It had a wooden fence around a series of tomato plants. Those were the only vegetables Sarge allowed to grow. Standing next to them was Lopez with his arms outstretched. He had a straw hat on his head and a torn pair of overalls covering a large portion of his armor. Birds were landing on him and pecking away at the crop. "Try waving your arms more, Lopez!" Donut yelled to him.

"No soy un puto espantapájaros! [I am not a fucking scarecrow!]" he yelled back. Donut shook his head and pointed his finger at the garden. He cupped a hand in front of his helmet, to try and amplify his voice.

"No, the birds!" he yelled, correcting Lopez.

"Mátame… [Kill me]" he muttered.

"Enough!" Sarge screamed. "This calls for action! The Blues could be planning a sneak attack at any moment. We need to find out what they're up to!"

"Up to?" asked a voice. Sarge turned around and saw another soldier approaching the Red team. He was wearing teal armor and his weapon was securely tucked onto his back.

"Hi, Tucker!" Donut yelled. "What's up with your team right now?"

"Meh, nothing right now," he replied. "Washington left to find Carolina and Church again, said they might be in trouble."

"So the Blues are reuniting!" Sarge cried. "I knew it! You dirty backstabbers!"

"I feel like we've been over this before, sir," Simmons began. "The Blues getting their team back together, is not a backstab. They're our enemies. It's actually a really normal action on their part."

"Then who the hell is in charge over there?" asked Sarge.

"Ummm… I guess I am?" Tucker said with no confidence. "Does it really matter?"

"You are the highest rank, right?" Simmons asked. "Private first class?" Tucker nodded and then shrugged.

"Yeah, but still, I'm a first class in a valley filled with one sergeant, a medic, and four privates."

"Don't forget Grif," Sarge chimed in.

"That's what he said," Grif replied. "Four privates. Simmons, Donut, Caboose, and me."

"No the fourth private is Lopez! You're a minor junior private negative first class."

"You really still remember that?" Grif asked.

"Of course I do! I think of it every morning, and for just a second in this tainted, blue-filled world… I smile."

"That was beautiful, sir," Simmons chimed in. "Do you smile when you think of me, too?"

"Only when I remember your robotic parts rust up in the rain. Watching Donut chip you out of a standstill is quite amusing." Simmons sniffed and turned away.

"Glad I can help your day." He walked away and Tucker shook his head.

"So as a leader, your job is to take hold of your privates!" Sarge told Tucker.

"But, I told you… bow chicka bow wow by the way… I told you we're not attacking. At least not until Washington comes back. Like I can hold a massive assault on you guys with just me and a guy with the brain of a retarded two year old." Donut coughed and pointed at something beyond Tucker. Tucker turned and saw Caboose, standing a few feet away. "Oh," Tucker began, "hi Caboose."

"Hello!" he said happily.

"So, yeah, we're not attacking," Tucker reassured.

"Well don't feel too comfortable!" Sarge exclaimed. "One day you'll be sitting there, loving your blue way of life, and the Reds will storm in out of nowhere and ride on to victory!"

"Yeaaahh!" Donut yelled. "It'll be a sneak attack! Right from behind! We'll wait until your base in totally vulnerable, and then penetrate that bitch!"

"Well put, Donut!" Sarge commented.

"Whatever," Tucker muttered. He turned around and started walking back towards his base. "C'mon, Caboose."

"But I wanted to hear more about when Lieutenant Mini-Muffin is going to penetrate us," he said as he turned.

"Caboose shut the fuck up!"

"So, what now, Sarge?" Grif asked.

"I say we plan an attack, boys, now while they're weak! We have an advantage! They're completely defenseless, and we have no one to oppose us!" The Reds began to plan, not knowing there was a ship, on its approach to Valhalla. It was a standard Pelican ship, sporting a lot of battle damage. An incoming transmission made a red light start to flash onto the pilot's helmet. The pilot reached down and pressed a button, opening the communication.

"This is Four-Seven-Niner, beginning my descent to the simulation outpost in Valhalla," she reported.

"Excellent," the voice replied. "I just received camera feed that Agent Carolina has come into contact with Mass."

"Right on schedule," Four-Seven-Niner replied. "I knew she couldn't resist the thought of more freelancer tech."

"More info, though," the voice continued.

"Good news or bad?"

"Not sure really," he replied. "She wasn't alone. Not only did she have the Alpha in her possession… she also had Agent Washington with her." Four-Seven-Niner took her eyes from the windshield to look down at her on-board communicator.

"He's still alive?" she asked.

"Affirmative," the man responded. "Just get to the canyon and recover the device. We'll keep you updated." Four-Seven-Niner looked back up at the windshield and nodded her head.

"Roger, that," she replied. "They'll never see it coming."

"Sounds like a plan. Good luck, Agent Arkansas." Four-Seven-Niner ended the transmission and continued on her flight path.


	3. Chpt 3: Project Freelancer

Washington's back slammed into the metal wall, denting it and sending a loud ring into the air. He fell to one knee and looked back up at his attacker. Mass slammed his fist into his hand and cracked his knuckles. Carolina threw her hand over her back and grabbed her assault rifle. She ripped it off her armor and aimed down the sights. She squeezed the trigger, the barrel pointed directly at Mass's visor. The bullets flew through the air and met their target, but sailed harmlessly through him and into the wall behind. Carolina lowered her weapon and stared at the anomaly. Mass was gone.

"What?" she asked.

"Carolina!" Church screamed. "Your six! Now!" Carolina spun around and threw a punch, which Mass caught. He also punched, which Carolina pushed out of the way and retaliated with a kick. Washington ran up behind Mass and loaded up his fist. Mass turned to look at him and his entire figure blinked a few times. Shortly thereafter, Washington tore through where Mass used to be and punched Carolina in the shoulder. She fell backwards and Washington fell next to her. She quickly got back to her feet and looked all around the room, with no signs of Mass anywhere.

"What kind of trick is this?" Washington asked.

"He's playing games with us," Carolina replied.

"Observant!" Mass cried. Carolina and Washing looked up and saw Mass sitting on a pipe going across the ceiling. "But I guess playtime's over." He blinked out again and reappeared between the two freelancers. They turned to look at him, right before he landed a punch on Washington's helmet and immediately followed with a kick to Carolina's stomach. Washington tried to regain his balance as he stumbled backwards from the shot. Mass appeared behind him and wrapped his arms around Washington. Mass followed with a massive suplex, lifted Washington into the air and dropping him on the back of his head. Mass disappeared and reappeared in front of Carolina. He unleashed a series of punches, each one meeting the mark, while skillfully blocking and deflecting each of her attempted attacks. Carolina's back hit a wall and she saw Mass loading up another shot. She leaned out of the way and pressed her hands against the wall, using it to push herself forward towards her attacker. She threw a punch, but again Mass vanished. The punched hit Washington in the visor as he was trying to sneak up behind Mass. He grabbed his head in pain and started to turn. Mass materialized behind Wash and kicked him in the stomach, launching him into Carolina and crushing her into the wall. Washington dropped to his hands and knees and Carolina leaned back against the wall.

"Church!" she yelled. "I need you to keep track of him!"

"I can't!" he yelled back. "It's not a hologram he's using. He's actually teleporting around."

"Exactly!" Mass yelled. "It's called de and re-materialization. Where my atomic make-up actually breaks apart and assimilates somewhere else. We all had our armor abilities Carolina." Carolina looked downwards and took a deep breath.

"Yes," she replied. "Yes we did." Suddenly she pushed off the wall again, and was in front of Mass in a flash. She punched him in the chin, making his feet leave the ground. She grabbed his arm and took off running around the room at lightning speed, slamming him into every wall and pipe in sight. Steam erupted from the broken pipes and the walls were denting and cracking on impact. Carolina came to a sudden stop, but Mass continued on his path and slammed into the security monitors, shattering glass in all directions and releasing a shower of sparks and fire. Mass fell to the floor and slowly pushed himself to his hands and knees. Carolina slowly approached him and pulled her pistol out of its holster. Washington ran to her side and Church appeared on her shoulder.

"It's over, Mass!" she yelled. "Project Freelancer was a failure and no amount of work or determination from you will ever revive it. Church stays with me." Church flashed on and off and turned to static for a moment, before returning to his normal state. Mass looked up at him and chuckled a few times. He got to his feet and rolled his shoulders.

"It would appear the Alpha is damaged," he said calmly. Carolina didn't take her eyes of Mass and kept the trigger half pressed.

"He's fine, Mass," she replied. Mass turned slightly to his right and looked at the sarcophagus. He looked back at Church and tilted his head.

"Don't you feel damaged, Alpha?" he asked. Church blinked out a few times and also looked at the sarcophagus. He was silent and simply stood there, staring.

"Church?" Washington asked. Silence.

"Church?" Carolina asked. Silence.

"Alpha?" Mass asked. Church looked at him and stepped away from Carolina's shoulder, floating in mid-air in front of her.

"Yes," he slowly replied. "I feel damaged." He turned a green color, casting a green glow onto everyone in the room. "I need repairs." Carolina's eyes finally left Mass when she saw the lid on the sarcophagus slide to the side and drop onto the ground with a heavy thud. She watched in horror as a purple tentacle slithered out of the sarcophagus and gripped the side. Suddenly a form appeared from the shadows of the container. It was round, with a metallic shell on top of it, decorated with spikes. More tentacles were sneaking out from under the shell, as well as a long neck with a head featuring six jet-black eyes. It floated into the air and hovered above the sarcophagus. Although there were hundreds of sounds in the room, its attention was instantly focused onto Church. Church stepped to approach it, but was stopped, as if on a leash. He looked back at Carolina, and then to the creature once again.

"This is the engineer," Mass introduced. "This is what the Director was using to fragment the Alpha, by convincing it that the Alpha was broken and in need of repairs."

"What did you do to Church?!" Washington yelled. "Why is he drawn to that thing?!"

"Because he isn't Church!" Mass yelled back. "No matter how many names you give him, no matter how many people he's based on, no matter how much time you spend with him… just trying to remember… he isn't Leonard Church. That is Alpha! A computer program, and nothing more!" Church was still a deep green as he looked down at the floor.

"He is correct," he stated. His voice changed in pitch, and became one that Washington remembered so well. "I am a computer program. And programs, must be repaired."

"Delta, please!" Washington yelled. "Think of what he'll do to you! Rationalize, Delta!"

"I have," he quietly replied. "I have, David." Suddenly Carolina and Washington were surrounding in lightning and there armor locked up. Both of them tumbled to the ground and laid motionless, staring at the ceiling. Two hands grabbed onto Carolina's helmet and ripped it off. Next thing she knew, there were fingers digging into the back of her skull and ripping out the chip containing the Alpha.

"NO!" she screamed. "Let me go!" The man stood up and looked the chip over in his hands. He snickered for a moment and threw it to Mass. He was a holding a gun with lightning still sparking from the tip. He had bright green armor, with blue accents. His helmet was CQB standard, as was his armor, though some of it was adorned with clever bumper stickers and etchings. He walked forward and stood next to Mass, his back still to Carolina and Washington.

"California?!" Carolina yelled. "But… but you should be in prison." Mass laughed and patted California on the shoulder.

"You really think every freelancer got caught up in the Chairman's little raid?" he asked, sarcastically. "Not all the agents are trapped behind bars, Caroline. You two are shining examples of that."

"How many!" Washington demanded. "How many of you are part of this!?"

"Enough," California replied. "That's how many."

"We have every soldier determined to make Project Freelancer a reality once again," Mass added. "And you two and your little buddies have really been stunting our unit!"

"What are you talking about?" Carolina asked.

"What am I talking about?! How about Wyoming?! Killed trying to take out some simulation trooper! How about Vermont and Hampshire?"

"Recovery Six and Nine?" Washington asked. "They were killed by the Meta, in Valhalla!"

"That's what they wanted you to think!" California yelled. "Faked their own deaths, just like Mass here. They were working side-by-side with us and the Insurrectionists. They were stationed in the Sandtrap alongside the Insurrectionist Leader while they tried to excavate the artifact. Do you know how they died? Reports say they were killed on a mongoose by an 'experimental, EMP powered jeep, piloted by a group of red simulation troopers.' What is that?!"

"That's enough!" Mass yelled. He lifted the chip up to his visor and stared at it. "Alpha!" Church appeared in front of Mass, back to his original color. "Come. It's time to repair you, once and for all. And bring Project Freelancer back to its former glory."

"Yes… Director," Church quietly replied. Mass and California turned and began walking out of the room, with the engineer floating just behind them. Mass stopped into the doorway, allowing the others to pass in front of him, leaving him alone with Carolina and Washington, still frozen on the ground.

"I could kill you now," he stated, "but I didn't want this to be the end for us… more like a new beginning. Think it over you two. You were freelancers once. Members of a powerful and unstoppable force. Don't let the opportunity slip away. When I'm finished copying the Alpha, I'll come find you again. Either you'll join Project Freelancer… or be destroyed by it." Mass turned and walked through the doorway, disappearing into the shadows.

[Author's note]

Thanks to everyone who is reading, favoriting, or watching this story. First off please leave reviews for me, I read them all. If you are a big Red vs Blue fan, chances are you have an account on Roosterteeth or Achievement Hunter. Friend me at Jerem6401 and talk to me there. I'd love to hear from you. Please read my other stories (Fallout 3, Pokemon, and Left 4 Dead). Thanks so much guys. - Jeremy


	4. Chpt 4: Reinforcements

The halls in the stone base were echoing with moans. The sounds of sobbing and tears filled every inch of the cold, lonely structure. There was nothing but sadness in this place.

"Caboose, shut the hell up already!" Tucker yelled.

"But I miss him!" Caboose wailed. "And now Church has a new best friend! I want a floating best friend on my shoulder! And then Church number two left, and I'm all alone!"

"Caboose, I'm standing right here."

"I know!"

"They're coming back," Tucker reassured. "Washington even told me when he left that he'd be back in a few days. The UNSC still thinks he's dead, he can't be away from here for too long." Caboose sucked up his crying and shook his head.

"The UNCC should just leave him alone!" Caboose yelled. "He never did anything wrong!"

"Well actually he sabotaged an entire organization and then worked with the Meta to kidnap Church. Oh… and he shot Donut, too."

"But we shoot at him all the time! And we never get in trouble!"

"That's because we never actually hit him, Caboose." Suddenly the base started to rumble, knocking items off the shelves and making Tucker and Caboose stumble to get their balance.

"What the hell was that?!"

"OH MY GOD DID YOU FEEL THAT!?"

"Yes, Caboose, of course I fucking felt that! I think something just flew over us!"

"THEY KNOCKED OVER MY MACARONI PAINTING! AND IT WAS STILL DRYING!"

"Caboose, shut up and follow me!"

"Alright, men," Sarge began, "and Donut. The Blues will never see us coming! Let's get our attack strategy down. I'll step on the teal one's neck, and Simmons will wave the red flag behind me. Grif will lay down next to the dead Blues, to make it seem like we suffered a loss. Actually, I'll probably just shoot him. He'll play his role better."

"Sarge, this sound like more of an 'after battle strategy,' rather than an actual form of attack," Simmons corrected.

"I see your point, Simmons," Sarge replied. "So I should just shoot Grif mid-battle, rather than wait… seems to be what you're saying."

"No, it isn't."

"Point taken!" Sarge yelled. He lifted his shotgun and aimed it at Grif. "So now then? Say your prayers you filthy blue orange ally enemy!" Sarge was cut off when a UNSC Pelican came soaring down over their heads, knocking Donut off his feet and making Sarge drop his weapon.

"Jesus!" Grif yelled.

"What in sam hell?!" asked Sarge. He looked forward and saw the Pelican slow down and begin to land next to their base. "We're too late, men! The reinforcements for the Blues has arrived! Prepare for all out war!"

"What the hell is that thing?" asked Tucker as he walked up.

"What do you mean, what is it?" Simmons asked. "It's the reinforcements you called for!"

"Are you guys still on that shit? We never called for reinforcements! Why would we?"

"I called one of Tucker's numbers," Caboose admitted, "maybe this is that nice lady I talked to."

"Caboose I told you not to call those!" Tucker yelled. "Some of those numbers are like ten bucks a minute! Last time you spent almost an hour talking to a chick pretending to be Santa for you!"

"You mean that wasn't really Santa!?"

"Son," Sarge started, "you and I are going to have another talk soon."

"I like our talks." The door on the Pelican suddenly shout out steam and unhinged from the ship. It slowly lowered and dropped to the ground. Out from the back of the Pelican came two soldiers. One had silver armor and appeared to be the pilot, while the second soldier was wearing yellow EOD armor with red accents. He had a massive hammer across his back and his arms were folded.

"The Pelican!" the pilot yelled, "where is it?!"

"Pelican?" asked Grif. "What the hell is a Pelican?"

"The space-ship!" yelled the man in yellow. "Like this one behind us. Reports say it crashlanded in this valley a long time ago… and we need it."

"Who the hell are you?" Sarge demanded. "Who do you work for? Where is your superior officer?!" The pilot sighed and shook her head.

"I knew this was going to be a pain," she murmured. "What do you say we just kill these guys and find the ship ourselves."

"Right," the man agreed.

"I don't know about commanding officers, dude, sounds like freelancers to me," Tucker stated. "Tex used to talk just like that." The yellow soldier pulled the hammer off of his back and stepped towards the Reds and Blues. The pilot put her hand on him and held him back.

"What did you just say?" she asked. "Are you talking about Freelancer Texas?"

"I call her Mrs. McCrabby," Caboose responded.

"Yeah, she was kind of a dirty whore," Donut added.

"I know," the pilot agreed. "Is she here? Where are you storing her?"

"Storing?" Grif asked. "What the hell do you mean? Like we have her bound up in a room somewhere."

"Bow chicka bow wow."

"Shut up!" Grif yelled at Tucker.

"Don't you guys remember?" Simmons asked. "Tex was an AI, just like Church. She was the Beta."

"Officially," the pilot corrected as she pulled out her gun. "Now, one last time… where is the ship?! Tell me or the teal one gets the first shot."

"Okay okay!" Tucker chimed in. "It's…"

"You coward!" Sarge interrupted. "Giving in to the enemy demands so easily?! Spineless Blue! He'll never talk. You might as well shoot him now! Add Caboose to that list as well… and then Grif. Actually shoot Grif first. You can leave Caboose and whatsajipster alive if you want."

"It's over the hill there!" Tucker yelled. "The ship crashed after it left our canyon at Blood Gulch. It's totally wrecked though, dudes."

"Ya," Caboose started, "Sheila's looked better. But I'll never tell her that."

"Sheila?" the pilot asked. "Who's Sheila?"

"It's the ship's AI," Tucker replied. "Caboose has some super creepy crush on that thing."

"I think it's cute," Donut added.

"I think it's stupid," Grif said.

"I think it's logically ridiculous… and stupid," Simmons chimed in.

"I don't think! I just watch and hate," Sarge added as he looked towards Grif and loudly began murmuring to himself.

"Sheila, huh?" the pilot asked.

"You think it's the same program?" the soldier asked.

"I don't know, Rhodes," she responded, "but I've got a good feeling about it." The pilot turned back to the Reds and Blues and put her weapon away again. "My name is Agent Arkansas, and I'm here to retrieve the Director's AI that he used to run Project Freelancer. I'm going to search the ship, but I'm sure Rhodes would be happy to watch over you while I'm gone."

"I think Mr. Builder would be better off with you," stated Caboose, "because there are nails in Sheila… but not big nails… small nails… lots of small nails… maybe medium ones." Rhodes looked up at his hammer and then sighed and shook his head.

"Just go," he said to Arkansas, "before I kill them all." She nodded and headed towards the hill. Rhodes looked at the ground and rubbed his forehead. Lopez approached Sarge and leaned in towards him.

"Dejar las luces encendidas en la base, [You left the lights on in the base]," he stated.

"Me too, Lopez," Sarge agreed, "me too."

"What did he say?" asked Simmons.

"He said this whole situation smells more rotten than a dead rabbit on a lonely highway," he replied. "Bring it in boys, I got a plan on how to take these two out… and find out what they're up to."

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this," Tucker added.

"I can," finished Grif.


	5. Chpt 5: I Have Missed You

Rhodes had his back to his Pelican as he looked down at the gauntlet on his wrist. Every now and again he would look up at the swarm of idiots in front of him, huddled together and whispering to one another. He folded his arms and cracked his neck and few times.

"Hey!" he called out to them. Sarge's head popped up first, followed one-by-one by every other member.

"Umm, yes?" Sarge asked.

"What are you talking about over there?" Rhodes interrogated.

"Umm… nothing?" Simmons replied.

"If it's nothing, then why did you say that like a question?" Rhodes asked.

"Umm… no reason?" Grif added with the same upward inflection. Rhodes pushed off the Pelican and walked towards the group. He put a hand on Donut's shoulder and ripped him away from everyone else, throwing him to the ground. He then pushed Tucker away and glared at Sarge.

"No more talking!" he yelled. "I'm keeping an eye on you until Arkansas comes back. So if I see any funny business I'll…" Rhodes started to look around, meeting eyes with each of the soldiers around him. "Wait a minute," he started. "One, two, three…" He pointed at everyone, keeping count in his head. "Wasn't there another one of you guys?"

"Umm… no?" Grif answered.

"Damn it!" Rhodes yelled. He put his ear up to his helmet and walked towards the Pelican. "Arkansas, heads up! We got a missing soldier here so watch your six!" Arkansas was kneeling next to the crashed Pelican, with a cord plugged into it and leading to a device in her hands with a large screen. She received her message and quickly set the device on the ground. She spun around and tore her assault rifle off her back. She finished turning and was left standing with her gun pointed directly at the spying soldier.

"Hello," Caboose remarked. Arkansas lowered her weapon and stared at Caboose.

"Are you spying on me?" she asked. Caboose was silent and didn't move a muscle.

"No?" he finally replied. Arkansas sighed and holstered her weapon. She put her hand to her ear.

"Under control, Rhodes," she reported. "It looks like they sent the…" She glanced up at Caboose who slowly waved to her, "… the special one."

"Understood," Rhodes replied. "Glad you got him."

"I knew sending Caboose was a bad idea!" Tucker yelled.

"Are you kidding?" asked Sarge, "the plan worked perfectly. Now, phase two of the plan had you going to spy next. Part three is a secret."

"Alright, fuck this," Tucker stated. "I'm out."

"What are you doing to Sheila?" asked Caboose. Arkansas picked up her device again as the download continued.

"The program's name is not Sheila," she stated, "it's F.I.L.S.S."

"No, it's Sheila. That's what we call her."

"It's not a 'her' either. F.I.L.S.S. is a computer program. You can't be friends with a computer program."

"That's not true!" Caboose yelled. "I am best friend with a computer program."

"That doesn't surprise me," Arkansas replied. Suddenly the screen on the device lit up and showed a blue oval that lit up as a voice talked.

"Hello, and thank you for activating this 1801 main battle t… er… Pelican," the voice spoke.

"See?" Arkansas asked, "just a program."

"You may call me Sheila," it finished. Arkansas looked down at the screen.

"What?" she asked.

"Oh, hello Four-Seven-Niner," Sheila said, excitedly. "It has been some time since I have last seen you. Would you like to have one of our 'girl talks' again?"

"Shut up, shut up!" Arkansas yelled.

"Very well," Sheila responded.

"Sheila!" Caboose yelled. "You fixed her Eight-Twenty-Fiver! Sheila! I have missed you so much!"

"Hello Caboose!" Sheila replied. "I have missed you as well. Are you alone right now? Where is the Director? He is usually with you." Arkansas turned and looked at Caboose. She slowly stood up and squared off with him.

"You were with the Director of Project Freelancer?" she asked, harshly.

"Yup!" Caboose replied, "he is my best friend. He is all glowy, and he floats on my shoulder, and when you poke him he gets really, really mad."

"Floats on your…" she began, "…you had the Alpha?"

"Yeah people say that a lot, so I usually just say 'yes.' Yes."

"So if the Alpha was here, and now it's with Carolina… that means she was here."

"Yeah she was," Caboose replied. "She was very mean though, but all girls are mean to me. There are no regular girls."

"We'll come back to that later," she stated. "But if Carolina was here… does that mean Washington was here as well?" Caboose went to answer and then stopped himself.

"Are you with the FCSC?" he asked.

"The FC… no… I'm not with them."

"Then yes. He was my new best friend until we got Church back. He left a few days ago, but he'll be back."

"Umm, yeah, sure he will," Arkansas said quietly. "Did Washington have anything with him? Any kind of device?" Caboose thought for a moment and then turned to look back at his base.

Rhodes was bouncing a rock off the end of his hammer, before winding up and hitting it off into the distance over the ocean.

"Good hit," Donut commented. "You're really good at that!"

"Thanks," Rhodes responded. "Played baseball in high school, before I got enlisted in the army."

"Yeah, I played with balls in high school, too," Donut added.

"Yeah? What sport?"

"Sport?"

"Donut!" Sarge yelled. "Stop conversing with the enemy!" Rhodes put up his hands and tucked the hammer back onto his back.

"Calm down, old man," he stated. "I'm not your enemy. I'm just a guy following orders, alright?"

"Orders?" Simmons asked. "From who? The Director died, didn't he? Freelancers don't have a superior anymore?"

"Oh, I have a superior," Rhodes replied. "Trust me, I would rather cross the Director than this guy any day."

"Come in Rhodes," Arkansas spoke over the communicator.

"This is Rhodes, what's up?" he asked.

"How are the prisoners," she inquired. Rhodes looked at the soldiers, seeing Grif and Tucker arm wrestling in the background.

"Yeah, they're fine," he replied.

"Good. Because I might have a lead on something else. If we found what I think we found… well… just watch them, okay?"

"Roger. Good luck."

"And this is where I keep my crayons," Caboose began, "so I can draw Church a picture for when he comes back, and over here is…"

"I don't need the tour," Arkansas interrupted. "Where is this device?"

"It's on the ground over there," Caboose said while pointing across the room. "Washington doesn't let me touch it. He thinks it's still important for some reason." Arkansas walked towards the device on the floor, which gave off a dim red glow. It was triangular in shape and lit up a little brighter when she touched it.

"It's the storage unit," she said quietly. "This is where they held the Alpha."

"Yup!" Caboose yelled. "Church was in that for a little while. Washington took it with us when we left the commanding place."

"You took this from Command?" she asked. She looked back at the unit and stood up straight, holding it in the air in front of her. "Then this is the real one."

"But Church isn't in there anymore," Caboose stated. Arkansas attached the unit to her back and looked at Caboose.

"He wasn't the only one they stored." She put her hand to her ear and spoke loudly. "Rhodes, do you read me?"

"Wow that one went far!" he yelled over the speaker. "You're not bad at that!"

"Rhodes!"

"Oh… ummm… yes?... roger?"

"We need to get back to headquarters, on the double."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" he asked.

"I think we did, Rhodes."

"I think we found her."


	6. Chpt 6: Who is Agent Mass?

Carolina's armor came out of lockdown only moments before Washington's. She pushed herself off the ground and quickly got to her feet. Washington spent another moment on the ground, staring at the ceiling. Carolina ran towards the doorway through which Mass left. The giant metal door had slid shut and was blocking her exit. She typed into the keypad next to the doorway, but it stayed in place. Carolina shook her head and gripped the bottom of the door. She started to pull upwards, but she couldn't get the metal slab off the ground. She stopped and banged a few times against it, but the metal was too thick.

"Washington!" she yelled. She turned her head to see Washington now sitting up, holding Carolina's helmet in his hands. He looked towards her and sighed. "Help me lift this door!"

"What? Are you hoping to catch him?" Washington asked. He got to his feet and walked towards his teammate. "Did you see what he can do? Mass is out of our league in combat, Carolina, and you know it. We need a strategy here."

"My strategy is to take that bastard down!" she yelled back. "He wants to rebuild what my father started… but he can't! He's not my father! He's nothing like my father!" Carolina was breathing deeply as her rage started building.

"Isn't he though?" Washington asked quietly. Carolina fell silent and stared at Washington. "He was one of us. He lied to us. He betrayed us. He thought he could achieve the impossible." Carolina didn't know if she was angry at Washington for suggesting this, or just angry because she knew he was right. Before she could respond, the room around her lit up. Every screen in the room turned a bright blue, with an oval in the center. It flashed a few times, before remaining steady.

"Back online," the voice spoke. Washington looked at the screen in disbelief.

"Filss?" Carolina asked.

"No, Agent Carolina, my new name is Sheila," she responded, "it was given to me by the Director himself. It has been a long time since I have last spoken with you. Would you like to begin another training session?"

"No Fil… umm… Sheila," she replied. "Where did you come from? I thought my father knocked you offline?"

"Yes. The Director instructed me to terminate program. However, it seems a link to my system was still activated in a far away outpost. When it was reactivated, my system responded by booting up again."

"Another outpost?" Washington asked. "You're Freelancer tech? Where else would you be stationed?"

"I will replay the audio from the recovery," Sheila replied. There was a moment of static, before a recording began.

"Hello, and thank you for activating this 1801 main battle t… er… Pelican," Sheila started.

"See?" asked a female voice, "just a program."

"You may call me Sheila," Sheila finished.

"What?" she the voice asked.

"Oh, hello Four-Seven-Niner. It has been some time since I have last seen you."

"Four-Seven-Niner?" Carolina asked. "How did she get out of prison? She was sentenced to life for treason, like all the Freelancers." Washington remembered her, all the talks he had with her, all the times she saved his skin. Four-Seven-Niner was actually… a friend to him.

"She can't be working with Mass," Washington began, "she just can't." He had his hand in a fist, suddenly feeling even more betray than before. "We have to find her."

"Maybe Sheila can tell us where the recording was taken," Carolina suggested. The recording continued until another voice chimed in.

"Sheila!" Caboose yelled in the audio.

"Oh dear lord," Washington murmured. "Well… I know where they are. Or at least where they were."

"It appears she was looking for something while she was there, though I have no information on what it was. She mentioned something about a device."

"Device?" Washington asked. He looked at Carolina who shrugged.

"Is she working with Mass, Sheila?" Carolina asked.

"I'm sorry," Sheila began, "but information regarding Agent Massachusetts is classified."

"To who?" Carolina demanded.

"The Director, of course." Carolina was silent and closed her eyes.

"The Director is dead," she slowly responded. Sheila was still as she started loading past files.

"I do recall him commanding me to shut down life support systems. I suppose you are correct."

"I'm his daughter. I demand access to his files."

"Affirmative. Playing all information on Agent Massachusetts." The screen changed to footage being taken in a small room. The Director sat in front of the camera, looking much younger than he did on Carolina's last encounter. He was fidgeting with the camera, getting the angle just right.

"I am recording this to document the birth of my greatest creation," he began. "My long sought after military campaign, codenamed 'Project Freelancer' has been approved. Unfortunately, I also requested several artificial intelligence units for my new soldiers, but I have only been given permission to use one. This AI will need to be copied from someone's DNA, so I felt it only fair to be my own. My current plan is to give this AI to Allison when she returns… but I have no idea when that will be. So for now, the AI will be given to the first member of Project Freelancer, Mr. Ryan Cass. I have raised him as my own since he was 16 and joined the military. He came to me, devastated, when he was discharged for what the military called 'malicious behavior' while in service. I feel he has what it takes to hold this AI until my wife returns from war. I am fearful of the dangers that come with AI implants, however, which is why I just cannot let my daughter have the first. It would be too painful to lose her."

"Recording ended," Sheila stated. Carolina was staring at the ground. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Is that true?" Washington asked. Carolina looked at him, small signs of tears in her eyes. "Your father raised Mass? Like a son?"

"No!" Carolina yelled. Then her anger fell away and she looked back at the screen. She sighed and shook her head. "Ryan Cass was abandoned by his family when he was young. He joined the army at 16, and my father saw potential in him… not me. Ryan outshined me in every way, and I made it my dream to be better than him."

"So, you did know him," Washington stated. "Before he was Mass."

"Yes. But he was discharged when he was 21 because of his actions. He would needlessly kill the enemies, even when they had surrendered. He would torture for fun. He would maim his victims… just so the enemy would be scared."

"Your father didn't care?" Washington asked.

"He thought it was for the sake of humanity," she replied. "He never questioned it." Washington looked back at the screen. He walked towards the computer panel in front of him and began pushing some buttons.

"Wait," he started, "here's some more. About Beta's implantation." Carolina looked up, now remembering that Mass was still a threat, and still out there. "It says that Beta was created by splitting off the Alpha's pain, and Cass was the only one The Director felt could handle it. He apparently has massive surges of pain that Beta needs to expel on a regular basis. Beta does this while Mass is in combat, so that he notices it less. But," Washington shook his head a bit, startled. He slowly continued reading, "but when Beta has to release his pain, and Mass isn't in combat…" Carolina thought back to Mass. Seeing his exposed arm covered in countless scars. She imagined him sitting alone, with blood dripping onto the floor.

"He distracts himself from the pain," she said quietly.

"So Agent Texas wasn't the first AI," Washington said.

"Incorrect," Sheila stated. "Agent Texas was the original Beta. She was created several months before the Beta implanted in Mass. But in regular testing, she was simply referred to as Texas. It wasn't until after she was created that the Director began his fragmentation process. It seemed like a rather impulsive decision." Washington thought for a moment and then turned to look at Carolina. Washington put a hand on his head as memories from Epsilon rushed to him. All the torture and anguish that was done to the Alpha, and how sometimes the Director seemed to actually… enjoy it.

"He hated him," Washington said quietly. Carolina looked up at Wash and tilted her head.

"What?" she asked.

"The Director," Washington replied. "He hated the Alpha."

"How could he hate the Alpha? They were the same person."

"Not once they split Texas off of him. Then the Director saw him differently. Alpha wasn't the Director anymore. He was just a happy man." Carolina's eyes widened as she looked back at the screen.

"He saw what he would be if he didn't remember her," she finished. "How happy he could've been."

"He tortured the Alpha… out of jealousy."


	7. Chpt 7: Evidence

Arkansas made her way to the Pelican, the capture unit tucked securely underneath her arm. She lifted her other arm and pushed a small button on her gauntlet, making the rear door of the Pelican unlatch and start to lower. She took a few glances around, seeing no one in the empty plot of land behind the red base. She put her hand to her ear and spoke loudly.

"Rhodes, where are you?" she asked. "FILSS is back online and the item is secure. Let's go." There was a moment of silence on the radio, before Rhodes called back.

"On my way, Arkansas," he replied. "One of the simulation troopers wanted me to see something… and you won't believe what it was."

"It wasn't the pink one, was it?" Arkansas asked. "If it was… I have a good guess." She then heard loud footsteps coming from the red base as Rhodes made his way up the ramp.

"Hey!" Grif yelled. "That's mine! I found it fair and square!" Arkansas put her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side.

"Stealing toys from the simulation troopers?" she asked. "Seems pretty low for you." Rhodes reached her and pulled and item off of his back.

"Depends on what you call a toy," he replied. He threw the item onto the ground which landed with a heavy thud. Arkansas gasped as memories of horrible gargles and clicks filled her mind. She shook her head and looked up at Rhodes.

"Is that what I think it is?" she asked. Rhodes slowly nodded and folded his arms. The sun gleamed off of the massive blade attached to the weapon. Blood stilled stained some of its features from the Meta's countless victims. Arkansas stepped away from it as Grif ran up between them. He grabbed the weapon off the ground and hugged it to his chest.

"You're not taking the Grifshot!" he yelled. "It's mine!"

"Where did you get that?!" Arkansas demanded. "Talk!"

"He got it off of one of my kills!" Sarge yelled. "To the victor go the spoils! That should be the Sargeshot! Double S. Donut! Where are you on my Abbreviation Dictation?!" Donut called back from deep within the base.

"In a second, Sarge! I want Rhodes to come here and see my thing, too!"

"Did you get this from Agent Maine?" Rhodes asked.

"The Meta?" Simmons responded. "Yeah. We tied him to our jeep and dragged him off a cliff. The gun fell out of his hands… so naturally we took it."

"Yup!" Sarge chimed it. "That guy's dead as a doorknob. D-double A-D. Donut!"

"Got it, sir!"

"If you want to keep it, fine!" Arkansas yelled. She turned around and stepped onto the Pelican. "It'd be a worry off my mind."

"Hey!" Caboose yelled as he rounded a corner. "That belongs to Agent Washington!" He pointed angrily at the capture unit under Arkansas's arm. "Give it back! He will be mad when he comes home! I don't like it when he's mad! He says big words I can't remember!"

"Meh, take it," Tucker added. "More junk off our floor. Don't know what you hope to find in that hunk of crap, though. We pulled Church out of that thing a while ago."

"Church?" Rhodes asked. "Leonard Church?"

"Yeah, you know," Simmons started, "the Alpha you freelancers have a fetish for?" Rhodes snapped his glare to Simmons, who stepped back. "Eeehhh… don't kill me!" Arkansas kept walking into the pelican, ignoring the words of the reds and blues. Rhodes sighed and turned towards his ship. He shook his head and then quickly turned back.

"Look guys," he started, "something big is happening right now. There's a Freelancer out there… a bad freelancer."

"Woah!" Grif yelled, sarcastically, "a bad freelancer? I didn't know such a thing could exist!"

"Shut up!" Rhodes snapped back, pointing at Grif. "This guy is different than other freelancers, like the Meta. He's good… really good."

"Yeah, well so was Tex," Tucker began. "She was like… the best. Wasn't she? Kicked our ass a bunch."

"That I can believe. And we all thought Tex was the best, too. She was always at the top of that scoreboard… that people like me and Arkansas could never even place ourselves on. This guy calling the shots now… Mass… he always had a problem with that scoreboard, too. Seemed like the Director never put him in the top place. Turns out the Director was purposefully holding him back. Right now we don't know if it's because the Director thought he could trust him… or the Director was afraid of him."

"So what's Ass's plan now?" Sarge asked.

"It's not Ass… it's Mass," Rhodes sighed.

"Did someone here just say something?" Donut asked as he ran out of the base.

"Look," Rhodes continued, "I've already told you guys too much. Just know to stay out of this. Me and Arkansas are inside his organization… but we think the Alpha will be enough to stop Mass before things get ugly."

"But Carolina has the Alpha," Simmons called out. "She took it with her when she left."

"Yes, but she doesn't have the whole thing. The Alpha is still missing one of the things that was split from it." Rhodes turned and looked back at the pelican. He sighed and ran towards the door, as he saw it begin to close. "If we're lucky," he called as he stepped onto the ship, "we might have found her." The door shut tightly behind Rhodes and the thrusters on the pelican glowed a bright white. It lifted off the ground and slowly turned a full 180. It started moving slowly, but then took off in a massive burst of speed, making the simulation troopers stumble to keep their balance. The pelican disappeared into the distance, with a small gleam of reflected sunlight.

"So there are still a bunch of freelancers around?" Grif asked. "I thought those guys were like… extinct now or something."

"And some guy worse than the Meta? That can't be good," Simmons added.

"Well there might be some massive battle out in space," Sarge began, "between people who are far superior to us in every way, but that means in no way… absolutely no way… that we need to involve ourselves in someone else's conflict." There was a brief silence for a moment, before Tucker sighed and looked at the ground.

"You guys are going to totally involve yourselves in this… aren't you?"

"Of course we are!" Sarge yelled back.

"Yeah, don't you get how this works yet?" Simmons asked. "We don't start fights."

"We finish them!" Grif finished.

"Actually we don't do that either," Simmons corrected, "we actually just jump into the fight, with no plans whatsoever, and in some way help people better than us win."

"As God intended," Sarge stated.

"Can I come Mister Sergeant?!" Caboose yelled.

"Hehe, what kind of leader would I be if I didn't take my mortal enemy on this dangerous mission with us? Of course you can come." Grif leaned in and whispered under his breath.

"Bait, huh?"

"Damn right."

"Okay!" Tucker yelled. "Fuck it! You guys obviously have some death wish, and I want no part of it."

"No part of it?!" Sarge yelled. "Damn it Tucker! You're the leader of your team now! Start acting like one! You're going to let down blues everywhere just because you don't have the blue balls needed to do what's right!"

"Please, Tucker," Caboose begged. "Think about Washington. He could be in trouble." Tucker sighed and looked up at the sky where the pelican had disappeared. He shook his head and turned towards his base.

"Fuck you guys," he muttered. Caboose sadly dropped his head down and turned to the reds. "And if you get me killed out there I'm really gunna be pissed." Caboose looked back up and jumped into the air.

"Alright, Tucker!" he yelled. "This is going to be the second best adventure ever!"

"If you say anything positive, I will fucking kill everyone on this journey right now!"

"Now you sound like a blue leader," Sarge complimented.

"Thanks, Sarge."

"Shut up you dirty blue!"

[Author's Note: Hey guys, Jerem6401 here. Thanks to everyone who has favorited and watched this story. Please recommend it to your friends on (if you're a member) and leave reviews here for me. Love you guys and can't wait to get this story going and finished up!]


	8. Chpt 8: Shafted

The door slammed onto the ground in the metal hallway, sending crashing echoes into its dark abyss. Washington and Carolina slowly stepped out of the room that originally held them as prisoners. Carolina lifted her gauntlet to her helmet and spoke with authority.

"FILSS," she began. "Are you online?"

"Affirmative," she spoke back. Her trademark blue oval appeared on Carolina's gauntlet and began to spin.

"Can you give me eyes on the outside of the complex?" Carolina asked. FILSS was silent for a moment.

"Attempting to link wirelessly with local security cameras," she updated. "I may take a few moments. Please be patient."

"Make is fast, FILSS," Carolina commanded. "Wash, you and I are headed for the quickest exit. We can't let Mass escape with the Alpha and that… thing." Washington nodded and the two took off down the hall. Carolina was begging for her suit to engage its speed boost, but without the proper AI, it was completely useless. Washington was staying close behind, not certain what Carolina's plan would be even if they managed to catch Mass.

"How's it coming, FILSS?"

"Uplink in 3… 2… 1…" Carolina looked down at her gauntlet to see her screen display an image of an exterior security camera on the roof. She watched as a pelican began its descent towards the group of Mass, California, and the Engineer.

"Shit!" she yelled. "They're getting an evac right now! Wash, we gotta get to the roof, ASAP!" Washington looked around and spotted a sign directing to the elevators. He pointed to it and quickly made a left as the hallway approached.

"This way!" he yelled. Carolina slowed down and sharply made the turn, sliding on the floor a bit as she did. She saw the elevator door and sped up a little. She jumped and threw a kick at the door, making it explode off of its frame and tumble down the elevator shaft. She stopped on the very edge of the shaft and looked up. The elevator was at the very top, probably how Mass and the others made their way up. Carolina looked at the cable in front of her and sighed.

"You thinking about climbing?" Washington asked. Carolina pulled out her assault rifle and held it firmly in her right hand. She turned her back to Washington and stretched out her shoulders.

"Grab onto me," she said quietly.

"What?" Washington asked.

"Hold onto me, now!" she ordered. Washington, without hesitation, ran forward and wrapped his arms around her.

"No!" she yelled. She spun Washington around and hugged him, front to front. Washington was blushing under his helmet as he turned to look back at the elevator shaft.

"Soooo… what's new?" he asked. Carolina kept her eyes focused at the top of the shaft as her suit began to change in the back. Two thrusters extended from her shoulder pads and began to light up. "Carolina?" She pushed forward and jumped into the shaft. The thrusters kicked in and two rocketed up to the rooftop. Washington screamed in fear and looked up. He saw the bottom of the elevator rapidly getting closer. He held Carolina tightly as she lifted her assault rifle and aimed it at the elevator. She forcefully held down the trigger, riddling the underside of the elevator with bullets. The floor weakened and became extremely brittle. Ten feet before impact, Carolina lowered her weapon and tucked her head in. She killed her thrusters, leaving her just enough momentum to crash through the bottom of the elevator. Washington looked on, as if in slow motion, at Carolina's expert precision. Right as they smashed into the elevator, shards of metal flying in all directions, Carolina's thrusters were already changing position to launch them horizontally instead. Washington saw them engage once again, before time returned to normal. They rocketed through the doors of the elevator and onto the rooftop. Mass snapped his head around as they flew directly at him. He cracked his neck, probably smiling underneath his helmet, and then instantly vanished. Carolina and Washington flew through where he used to be as Carolina cut her thrusters yet again. She flipped over and skillfully landed on her feet, skidding to a stop. Washington landed on his back and skipped like a pebble for about twenty feet, before stopping. Mass reappeared further down the rooftop and lifted his arms to the sides.

"You just don't know when to quit, Caroline!" he yelled. The Engineer was already onboard the pelican, and Carolina could only assume Alpha was as well. Rhodes reached his hand out and helped California onboard.

"Nowhere to run, Mass!" she yelled. "Give up the Alpha and surrender! Maybe I'll think about letting you live." Mass started to laugh just as a bolt of lightning cracked across the midnight sky. Rain began to pour down onto the freelancers, slightly blurring the vision through their visors. The pelican lifted off and began to fly away from the rooftop. Carolina turned her head towards it and dug her foot into the gravel. There was another bolt of lightning, and in the brightness, Carolina was shocked to see Mass standing only a few inches from her. He grabbed her shoulders and headbutted her right in the helmet. He then punched her across the face, followed by another, and another. Each one with more and more force behind it. She stumbled backwards and ground her teeth together. She ran at Mass and threw a powerful punch at his chest. Mass simple stepped to the side, grabbing her wrist, and pulled her into a forearm. Carolina slammed into the ground, sending small rocks in all directions. She dug her finger into the gravel and looked upwards. The lightning struck again, illuminating Mass with the silhouette of the pelican in the air behind him. He snickered a few times and looked up at it.

"Well my rides here," he said calmly. "It's been fun though… hasn't it little, sis?" Carolina coughed and shook her head.

"You're not my brother!" she yelled. "And the Director is not… and never was… your father!" Mass looked back down at her and shook his head.

"He was more of a father to me than he ever was to you." Carolina's breath slowed down and her grip on the ground loosened. She looked away from Mass as he folded his arms. "Think about that one, Caroline. Oh and by the way, I'm leaving you two a little get-well-present. So I wouldn't lay there for too long." Carolina snapped her head back to Mass as he vanished and reappeared on the side of the pelican. He saluted and climbed inside, closing the door behind him. Carolina quickly jumped to her feet as the pelican flew away. She looked at Washington who was just now standing up, shaken by the trip up the elevator.

"Wash!" she yelled. He looked up at her and titled his head. The rain picked up and the wind was blowing even harder. Suddenly it sounded like they were in a cyclone. "We need to get out of here! Mass set something up!" Washington shook his head as he walked towards her.

"What?!" he yelled.

"There's something out here!" she yelled back.

"WHAT?!" Carolina shook her head and began to run towards him.

"There's a…" suddenly she saw something cutting through the rain drops. A bright red laser pointer as it lined up with Washington's back. "…TRAP!" Carolina watched as the front of Washington's armor gained a new hole with a small explosion of metal shrapnel and blood. Washington stopped in his tracks and looked down at his chest. Blood leaked from the hole and travelled down the contours of his suit, dripping onto the ground below. He looked back up at Carolina and then slowly dropped to his knees. "NO!" Carolina screamed as Washington fell face-first into the gravel. She quickly ran to him and grabbed his armor. She ripped him to the side and jumped behind some vents on the roof for some momentary cover.

"Washington!" she yelled. "Wash!" He didn't move, but she should see he was still breathing. "David! Talk to me!" He coughed a few times and put a hand over his wound.

"I'll… I'll be fine…" he began. "Get… get out of here!"

"Not without you! I never leave a soldier behind!" Carolina pulled out her pistol and peeked over the side of the vent. Almost immediately, a bullet sparked off the metal right next to her head. She ducked back into cover and shook her head in fear. "Damn it! A sniper's got us in his view." Carolina looked around at the lights illuminating the rooftop, and got an idea. She looked down her gauntlet as FILSS came online again.

"FILSS," she began, "can you shut down the lights on the roof?"

"Affirmative," she quickly responded.

"Then do it!" FILSS's oval turned a bright white as the lights on the rooftop powered down. There was nothing now but pure darkness. Carolina patted Washington on his leg and leaned closer to him.

"I'll be back for you," she said quietly, "I promise." Washington nodded and then put his head back onto the ground. Carolina jumped out of the vent just as a bolt of lightning struck. With it came another sniper shot, which ricocheted off the ground next to her, sending sparks and small rocks in all directions. She dodged it, stumbling a few times before regaining her speed. She ran towards the source of the bullet, firmly gripping her pistol. Another bolt of lightning was coupled with two more shots that both grazed her armor as they passed. Carolina fell to one knee and took some deep breaths. Whoever this sniper was, he was good. Too good. Carolina continued towards the attacker, waiting for the next lightning strike. Suddenly it struck, and Carolina was greeted with the barrel of a gun only inches from her face. She quickly swatted the sniper rifle to the side and knocked it to the ground. The man pulled a pistol out of its holster and took aim. Carolina dodged the first shot and kicked the man in the leg, knocking him to his knees. He ducked under another kick, and then spun around, tripping Carolina. She fell to the ground and the man rolled away from her. He jumped to his feet and the world went dark once again.

"Still got the old skill I see," he said, but barely audible over the storm.

"Shut up!" she yelled. "You shot my friend! How dare you! I don't know who you are, but once I kill you, I'm taking Mass down myself!"

"Really? You think so?" Carolina could now tell he had an accent, but it was still unclear in the rain. "You don't remember me, dear Carolina? I must say I have quite a knack for putting bullets into your boyfriends. You'd think I'd be a little higher on your list of undesirables."

"Wait…" Carolina said quietly. "No… no it can't be… you… you can't be alive… you can't be with Mass!"

"Oh, but I can" he replied. "I'll explain how with a little riddle, dear Carolina." The man stepped forward as another bolt of lightning illuminated the rooftop. The man had a pistol trained on Carolina's visor. His bright white armor was almost glowing in the radiance of the lightning strike. He titled his head to the side as the world once again faded to black. The rain and wind seemed to fall silent, since now the man's deep, sinister voice, and thick British accent was crystal clear.

"Knock knock."

[Author's note]

Hey guys, Jerem6401 here. Thanks for keeping up with Red vs Blue: Reimagining. This might pass "The Story of Aidan Wolfe" as my favorite fanfiction I've written. (if you haven't read that yet you definitely should) Please leave reviews for me about this. I love hearing feedback. Also if you like my stuff here, please help me out by visiting my pages on youtube Achievements4Idiots, twitter Ach4idiots and Achievement Hunter Jerem6401 I post a lot of art and other cool stuff, so check it out. Thanks everyone and you guys and girls are the best!


	9. Chpt 9: The Sniper vs The Soldier

"Wyoming?" Carolina asked, almost out of breath. She slid backwards away from him, but he replied by stepping closer, his pistol still trained on her head. "But… but your file. It says you were KIA by an accident with the simulation troopers."

"You seem so shocked," he chuckled. "It would seem your good friend Washington's file says the same thing. And he seems fit as a fiddle… or at least he was."

"You were dead, Wyoming!" Carolina growled back. "The Meta had your armor ability and your AI. Everyone assumed he was the one to blame for your death."

"Ah, yes. Dear Agent Maine. How did he handle my time distortion unit? It served me well, yes it did. That's why I'm standing here right now!" He put his arm in the air and looked outwards into the sky, as if he had a massive audience. Wyoming was always showy like that. "You see Carolina, when I reverse time, I actually create a clone of myself, which then warns the next one what is about to happen." Carolina gasped and again tried to slide backwards.

"So you have clones of yourself, from all the distorting?"

"Of course not, Carolina," he quickly replied. "That would create a time paradox. Nasty business indeed. So I had an understanding with myself. Whomever was the most recent version of myself, got to kill the other clones, to preserve our existence. When my distortion unit was disrupted by that relic that dear Private Tucker had, the most recent version of myself was actually killed. So I… being the most recent clone before him, fled the scene, while my other versions were murdered by those blasted simulation troopers. It's all quite confusing, yes I see."

"So you were a coward?" Carolina prodded. She started to push herself up, but Wyoming quickly rushed forward and slammed his foot into her chest, pinning her back to the ground.

"Quite the contrary," he corrected. "I was intelligent. I knew that the other clones already assumed they were going to die, so they sacrificed their lives to make sure I escaped. Sure, my AI and ability were lost in the transaction, but a small price to pay for a life… wouldn't you say?" Wyoming knelt down, closer to Carolina, and put his arm over his knee. He shook his head and pressed the end of his pistol against her visor. "It's a shame you had to go this easily, Carolina. Your father would be so disappointed in you." Carolina ground her teeth together and threw up her hands. She pushed the pistol to the left, hearing the bullet crack against the ground next to her. Then she wrapped up Wyoming's arm and pulled him down, before slamming her forearm into his helmet.

"Shut up!" she yelled. Wyoming stumbled backwards as the pistol flew from his hands. He caught his balance and turned to see Carolina springing into the air. She threw a punch which Wyoming dodged. He kneed her in the chest and punched her away. Wyoming quickly looked around, spotting his sniper rifle on the ground. He quickly checked Carolina's position before diving for it. He rolled across the ground, grabbing the rifle as he did. Carolina screamed in anger as she regained her stance and charged at Wyoming. He looked around, assessing the rooftop, before spotting a pipe sticking out of the roof, venting fumes into the sky. Wyoming rested the rifle across his forearm and fired, ricocheting the bullet off the pipe and into Carolina's shoulder. Her armor absorbed the bullet, but knocked her backwards onto the ground. Wyoming spun around, one arming the sniper rifle like a pistol. He fired off three shots, each one skillfully dodged by Carolina. Small rocks from the impacts sprayed into the air and scratched the paint off of her armor. Wyoming grabbed the rifle by its empty clip and threw it upwards, detaching it. Meanwhile, his other hand was holding a new magazine, which the rifle expertly fell on top of, reloading it within seconds.

Carolina was back to a vertical base and was already charging at Wyoming. He swung the sniper rifle, backhanded, like a tennis racket, firing when it passed by Carolina. She ducked underneath, but was greeted with a kick. She grabbed Wyoming's foot and ripped it upwards, sending him into a backflip. Without missing a beat, he fired again while in the air, but Carolina slid out of the way at the last second. Before he landed, Carolina punched him three times in the stomach, each one harder than the last. Wyoming fell to his knee and held his rifle out sideways. Carolina stepped back as a bullet fired into the distance, bounced off the elevator doorframe, and flew back in front of her. She lunged forward and kicked Wyoming in the chest, knocking him into a backwards roll. He finished on his back, and saw Carolina in the air above him, dropping her heel down towards his head. He help up his rifle sideways to block, but her foot smashed clean through it and embedded his head into the rooftop. Shards of broken armor and rock filled the air, and a ring of smoke flew away from the impact zone. Carolina stepped off of Wyoming's head and stood strongly over him. She grabbed his collar and ripped him off the ground, holding him in the air in front of her. His visor was cracked and sniper rifle was in pieces on the ground.

"Answers, Wyoming!" she shouted. "Now!" He snickered a few times and shook his head.

"First a question," he said between coughs. He rolled his head a few times, getting the feeling back in his neck. "Knock knock…" Carolina clenched her hand into a first and got ready to strike.

"Who's there?" she asked, menacingly.

"Ka!"

"Ka-who?"

"KABOOM!" he yelled triumphantly. Carolina gasped and turned around as a grenade on the ground behind her exploded. Carolina flew through the air and slammed into the ground, skidding a few times before stopping. She dug her fingers into the gravel and tried to push herself up. There was a high-pitched whine filling her head, and everything in her vision was splitting into twos and fours. She got to her knees and pulled her pistol out of its holster. Question time was over… Wyoming had to die. She lifted the pistol to aim it at her opponent, but it was instantly kicked from her hand. The pistol flew into the air and landed in Wyoming's grip as he stood over her. He aimed it down at her head and shook his own.

"Knock knock," he began. "Who's there?" Seems he wasn't willing to wait for Carolina to answer anymore. "Boo. Boo-who? That's what I'll say at your funeral dear Carolina. Ha ha ha." Carolina closed her eyes as the bang of a pistol shot filled the air around her. She slowly opened her eyes again to see Wyoming in the same spot as before. She looked up and saw a dark hole in the center of his visor. Blood leaked from it and stained his white armor, before his entire body fell backwards and collapsed on the rooftop. Carolina took some deep breaths and turned around. Washington was lying on the ground, his right hand covering his wound, while his left was still holding the smoking pistol. He dropped it to the ground and then lowered his head, lying flat on his back. Carolina was still breathing deeply, but put on a small smile. She laughed and few times as she fought her way to her feet.

"That was the best shot ever," she said quietly. "…of all time."

The water next to the sandy beach churned as something large boiled underneath. Suddenly a massive gun emerged from the sea, followed by four wheels and the loud blaring of accordion music. The water dripped from its frame and merged again with the ocean below it. The warthog jumped from the sea and planted itself on dry land, followed shortly by another, fitted with the experimental EMP cannon.

"I hate it when we do that!" Grif yelled.

"I keep telling you this thing isn't made for submerged travel, and every fucking time… the damn thing makes it!" Simmons screamed. "You know what? I'm done! I am now categorizing this vehicle as a submarine. Game over! Sorry physics!"

"Quit your bellyaching, Newton!" Sarge yelled. "How'd you guys make it over there? Corporal Idiot, Lieutenant Nonsense… and Caboose."

"Hey!" Donut yelled.

"Whatever, dude, we're fine," Tucker finished. "Caboose needs to take a leak though."

"I need to get my helmet fixed!" he yelled. "I had to drink a lot on the way here… again!" He jumped off the warthog and ran to the nearest set of bushes.

"Why are we here anyways?" Tucked asked. Sarge jumped off the Warthog, as did Simmons and Grif.

"Uh, because freelancers always seem to come here," Grid answered, "duh!"

"Bingo!" Sarge agreed. "Like a moth to a flame. But in this case, like a genetic super soldier to a giant spinny windmill. Hehe."

"Of doom," Grif finished. The windmill was still spinning at the same slow speed as before, and the area was still scarred from their previous encounter with the Meta.

"Why would they have any reason to come here?" Tucked continued to interrogate. "Wouldn't they be heading to their base somewhere out in space? They did have a spaceship. Usually someone has a spaceship to go through SPACE!"

"Ya, and normally people have a submarine to go through water," Simmons added. "But no one seems to give a fuck about that!"

"Can it! All of you!" Sarge yelled. "They'll be here. I'm sure of it! Better settle in and just wait." Donut shrugged and climbed into the passenger seat of the warthog.

"Works for me," he began, "I think it's time to put on my favorite smooth jazz compilation."

"NO!" everyone yelled in unison.

"Donut!" Sarge yelled. "They're comically saying 'no' at the same time because your music sucks! I'm saying 'no' because that button isn't the rad…" Suddenly the EMP cannon on the back of the warthog charged up and fired a massive shot into the outer wall of the fortress. Giant slabs of rock detached from it and crumbled down towards the group.

"Tucker!" Caboose yelled as he ran from his bushes. "Tucker look out!" Tucker looked up just as several huge rocks fell on top of him, burying him underneath. "TUCKER!"

"-io," Sarge finished. "See, told you, Donut." Sarge looked at the pile of rubble and shook his head. "So the teal one got crushed to death, huh? Never saw it coming. Hehe."

"Ya," Grif continued. "I always thought it'd be some kind of sexual disease."

"Shut up!" Tucker yelled from under the rocks. "Get me out of here!"

"Aww, he lived?" Grif asked. "That's lame."

"C'mon guys!" Tucker shouted. "I think I broke my leg!"

"Caboose!" Sarge yelled. "Go ahead and dig him out. I don't really care if he gets out or not." Caboose looked at Sarge and then at the pile of rocks. He paused for a moment, before looking at Sarge once again.

"Yeah… me neither," he whispered.

"Caboose!"

"Sorry, sorry." Suddenly a loud beeping emerged from the rubble and filled the air around them.

"What the hell?" Simmons asked. "Tucker, is that coming from you?"

"Yeah, I think so! What the hell is it?"

"I don't know, dude, but turn it off!" Grif yelled back. "It's super annoying."

"Get me out of here and we'll fucking talk about it!"

"Wash!" Carolina yelled as she ran to his side. He was barely conscious, but still alive. "Wash, stay with me! We're going to get you help, okay?" Washington found it hard to talk, so instead he just nodded his head slightly, before dropping it back onto the ground. Carolina threw his arm over her shoulder and lifted him off the ground. She walked him towards the elevator and looked down the elevator shaft. "We'll hide out in here until we get you patched up." Washington looked at the elevator shaft and shook his head.

"No more elevators," he murmured. "I don't wanna… elevator." Carolina patted him on the shoulder a few times, before a beeping noise filled the air.

"What?!" she asked, confused. She looked down at her gauntlet and shook her head. "Wash… it's your recovery beacon. But… but there's no way…"

Meanwhile, aboard a pelican out in space, the beeping was also being relayed.

"Recovery beacon!" Four-Seven-Niner yelled. "Quick get Mass!" Rhodes gulped and turned out of the cockpit. He made his way past California who had his arms folded and was leaning against the wall.

"You sure you wanna bother him right now?" he asked. Rhodes took a deep breath and shook his head. He continued walking and opened the door in the back of the spaceship. Mass was sitting, alone in the darkness of the cargo bay, slumped over and shaking slightly. Every now and again, blue sparks would jump from the sides of his head and disappear into the air around him. Rhodes watched as streams of blood ran down his arm and dripped onto the floor below. Rhodes closed his eyes and put up his hand.

"Umm… Mass?" he began. Mass cringed, not in a way that Rhodes startled him, but more like Rhodes hurt him. Mass snapped his head around, glaring into Rhodes's eyes. Mass's eyes were glowing bright blue as he pushed himself to his feet. Mass's left arm had a new gash across the forearm, which was still dripping blood. Mass's eyes stopped glowing and his grabbed a roll of medical wrap that sat right sat to him. He started wrapping his arm up around the new wound and made his way towards Rhodes. He stood only inches from him and stared, almost though him.

"This better be good, soldier," he said, grimly. Rhodes took a deep breath and pointed back up the ship.

"We… we received a r…recovery beacon," he barely mouthed out. Mass's eyes widened and he looked towards the cockpit. He walked forward, pushing Rhodes out of the way as he did. Mass tore by California, giving him chills as he went by. When he reached the cockpit, Four-Seven-Niner could feel the tension in the room skyrocket. No one liked being near Mass… not even for a second. He radiated nothing but pure fear.

"Arkansas!" he yelled. "Status report!"

"Recovery beacon, sir," she replied. "There's an injured freelancer out there somewhere."

"It had better be Carolina," he said quietly.

"Negative, sir. Carolina, Washington, and Wyoming removed themselves from the network. The beacon is coming from a remote, simulation base. Nearby where Rhodes and myself scouted for the artifact." Mass closed his eyes, pondering what this signal could represent. Possibly another member for the new Project Freelancer. Mass nodded and pointed at the signal as it flashed across the HUD.

"Head for it," he demanded. "Whatever Freelancer is there, I want them either alongside us… or dead." Four-Seven-Niner nodded and began to turn the ship around.

"Signal just amplified, sir," she updated. "We got a positive ID on the signal." Mass leaned closer to the screen as information started to feed across the HUD. Mass raised one eyebrow and squinted his eyes, processing the information. He shook his head a few times as a photograph of a soldier wearing dark blue armor flashed across the screen. Mass could picture him. His cheery personality, his affinity for his hatchet, and that stupid grin he always had on his face.

"Florida?"

[Author's Note]

First off... like always... PLEASE REVIEW. I love hearing from my readers and I read them all!

Secondly, check out my youtube channel Achievements4Idiots to see a custom animation I made called "Memory is the Key" starring Agent Washington and Epsilon. Comment on it and let me know what you think.

Finally, I had this chapter done, and I could've waited to post it... but screw it. I got a lot of positive messages about the last chapter, so I thought, why keep people waiting to see what happens? I also want to let people know that while reading this story, don't worry if something seems to not fit with what's happened in RVB. I've seen every episode of Red vs Blue a crazy amount of times, and anything that's out of place is done for a reason and will be explained as the story progresses. However, I do appreciate your fear of me messing with the RVB universe. (it shows that you're all really big fans as well) Anyways, more chapters are to come soon. PM me if there's aspects of the story you want to discuss, and please friend me on Roosterteeth's website at the name Jerem6401. Thank you and love you all!


	10. Chpt 10: Sending Signals

"Oww, don't touch it!" Tucker yelled. He was sitting against the rock wall while the others gathered around him. Caboose would lean down towards him, but Tucker would then quickly push him away. Tucker's armor on his left shin was smashed and cracked open. His leg underneath wasn't much better, bending mid-shin from a bone fracture.

"Yup, that's definitely broken," Simmons called out.

"What was your first clue?" Grif asked, sarcastically. "The fact that his leg has two knees now?"

"Looks like the bitchy blue's bones were brittle," Sarge commented.

"Excellent alliteration, sir!"

"Pipe down over there English major! I'm not trying to impress you!"

"I thought it would lead to a legitimate career!" Simmons cried.

"Pfft," Grif began, "if you wanted to spend four years in school to not get a job, you should have just been an art major. At least you could've just played with crayons the whole time."

"Guys!" Caboose yelled, "we need to get help! Someone call Doctor Doc! He'll come help us!"

"Negative, Major Stupidity," Sarge replied. "No can do. The safety of this mission depends on him not knowing where we are, or what we're doing!"

"Wait, you just left Doc at the base without telling him where we all went?" Donut asked.

"Hehe, never knew what happened," Sarge chuckled. "Those decoys I left will fool him for days.

Back at Valhalla, Doc was standing, his scanner at his hip, conversing with a cutout of Sarge. The Simmons and Donut cutouts were there as well. The Grif one was adorned with several bullet holes and missing pieces from grenade explosions.

"Man, what a nice day, huh?" Doc exclaimed. "It's like we never get bad weather here. Isn't that funny?" He looked back and forth between the soldiers… no answer. "Boy… you guys sure are quiet today, aren't you?" Again there was a silence. Doc sighed and turned to his left. Lopez stood only a few feet away, staring at him. "They all left, didn't they?"

"Si."

"Doesn't matter," Tucker began, "he's a medic, not a doctor. He would've just talked to me and made me feel better… while I died."

"Well we'll have to call a medical evac for him, sir," Simmons stated. "You know, like when Donut got the grenade stuck to his head."

"I do vaguely remember that," Sarge replied.

"I don't," Donut added. "I just remember coming back with this kicking lightish red armor."

"Well, call them, assholes!" Tucker yelled. "This really hurts!"

"Awww bit your quitching!" Sarge responded. He flicked on his radio, hearing it dial through to find the nearest connection. "Come in, Command. Do you read me? We have an injured soldier and need evac immediately." He waited a moment, with no response. "Command?! Command where are you?!" He flicked off the radio and turned back to his troops. "Too bad, blue. Looks like something in the area is jamming the radio signal. I can't get a call out." Simmons sighed and looked around. He was scanning the terrain and then focused in on the windmill. He looked up and down it, before zeroing in on a small antennae poking from the very top.

"Hey, I've got an idea, Sarge!" he called out. "If we can uplink an amplifier to that antennae right there, we might be able to boost a signal through whatever is blocking us!" Sarge looked at the antennae and then slowly turned his head to Grif.

"You know what, Simmons," he started, "I think I can make a good plan even better." Grif looked at Sarge and then up at the windmill.

"Umm… why are you looking at me when you say that?"

Washington's eyes slowly opened and faded into the view of a metallic ceiling dotting with several fluorescent tubes. He turned his head to the side, seeing Carolina sitting, leaning over something and fiddling around with it. Washington looked back down at himself, seeing his armor had been removed and his chest was stained with dry blood. The bullet wound had been patched, and he could only assume the same for the entry wound on his back. Washington shook his head and coughed a few times. Carolina quickly jumped to attention at the sound and spun to face him.

"Wash," she began, excited, "you're awake." She stood up from her seated position and approached her fallen teammate. Washington went to sit up, but Carolina put a hand on his shoulder and held him back down. She shook her head. Washington knew arguing was useless, so he instead just relaxed and rested his head back onto the small cot in which he lay. He shook his head a few times and sighed.

"I can't believe Wyoming was with them," he said quietly, "that so many of our original team was willing to just turn against what we stood for." Carolina lowered her head and then turned to look away, not at anything in particular, just across the room.

"What did we stand for, Washington?" she asked. Washington looked at her.

"We were supposed to win the war," he replied. "And we did."

"That's what we thought. But what do we know?" Carolina closed her eyes at the thought. "What else didn't the Director tell us?" She clenched her hands into fists and pressed them hard against the edge of Washington's cot. "That bastard hid everything from me!" She started to breathe deeply as those thoughts began to invade her mind.

"Carolina…" Washington began. It was like she couldn't hear him. Like anger was making her blind and deaf to everything around her. Washington reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the touch and turned to face him. "Carolina." She took some deep breaths and then sighed.

"I'm sorry Washington," she replied. "It's like I was completely betrayed by my family. Like I lost a father… and a brother. It's… it's difficult." Washington nodded and took his hand away from her.

"I know," he responded. "I've… I've lost a brother, too." Carolina looked up and titled her head to the side.

"You have a brother?" Washington was silent as he closed his eyes. He shook his head a few times and took a deep breath.

"Had…" he said softly. "I _had_ a brother. I don't usually talk about him."

"What happened to him?" Washington then looked away the same way Carolina had done earlier. Staring into nothing, but obviously having a mind full of memories he wished he could forget. Washington cringed for a second, before closing his eyes and pushing himself up into a seated position.

"Wash?"

"We're wasting time here," he stated. He swung his legs over the side of the cot and slowly stood up. He was shaky, and had to firmly grip the side of the bed so he didn't fall. Carolina stood up to help him, but he pushed her hands away and regained his balance. He stumbled to a table a few feet from him and grabbed hold of a piece of his armor. He coughed a few times as the blood stain on his bandages slowly grew. "We need to see where that recovery beacon came from."

"Already honed in on the signal," Carolina stated. "It's from a simulation base not far from Valhalla. The area is the kind of place they used simply because they couldn't find anywhere else. They even codenamed the base, "Last Resort." There's some kind of massive generator there… so maybe it's attracting other Freelancers to the location to try and get their abilities running again." Washington stretched out his shoulders and cracked his neck. He seemed to be composing himself once again. He turned to Carolina and shrugged.

"The base sounds familiar to me," he replied. "I think it's where Church and I tracked down the Meta. Only thing that's really bothering me is the signal's source. Agent Florida? Butch? He was pronounced KIA right before Project Freelancer disbanded. He was such a nice guy, too. I can't imagine he'd be working with Mass all this time."

"Florida and Mass never really got along," Carolina stated. "I wouldn't count on that being the case. Let's just get to the base and check it out." Washington nodded and began to strap on his armor once again. "Make sure you're up for this, though. Who knows what we'll find there."

"FOR GOD'S SAKE! STOP MAKING ME CLIMB TO THE HIGHEST PLACES IN THE WORLD!" Grif shouted from on top of the windmill. "WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS TO DO THINGS LIKE THIS?!"

"Oh, quit your whining, Nancy!" Sarge yelled back.

"Yeah! You have someone up there with you this time!" Simmons added. Grif sighed and looked to his right.

"Hello," Caboose said happily.

"Just shut up and help me hook up this amplifier," Grif muttered.

"Okay. I am very good with telechomics." Grif shook his head and knelt down next to the antennae, followed closely by Caboose, hiding them momentarily from the view of their friends on the ground.

"Ah," Sarge sighed in happiness, "this is what pure bliss feels like, Simmons. Or at least as close as I can get until Grif falls over. Hehe."

"You really don't like that guy, huh?" Tucker asked.

"What, Grif?" Sarged asked. "He knows I'm just messing with him. All those punches and bullets to the face… tell him that I care." Donut was watching on, concerned about Grif. Suddenly he heard something behind him, footsteps in the sand. He turned around and lowered his weapon to his hip.

"Ummm... Sarge," he called out.

"Not now, Donut!"

"Sarge… you really should look at this."

"Donut, I'm trying to focus! I don't want to be looking away if something terrible happens. Or if Grif falls… whichever comes first."

"Hey!" Tucker cried. "Get away from me. What the hell are you doing?! Red guys! Help!" Sarge and Simmons spun around just as two hands reached out and grabbed their throats. They both were slowly lifted off the ground as the massive figure in front of them held them in the air with ease. His visor was gleaming in the sunlight, and Donut was face-down in the sand behind him. Two more soldiers wrestled with Tucker, examining his armor before lifted him up and beginning to carry him away.

"Sarge," Simmons said with what little air he had. "I think something terrible might have happened."

"Oh," Mass said quietly, "this is much… much worse than that."

[Author's Note]

As I always ask, please leave reviews for me. I'm super excited about this story and how it's progressing. Next chapter will hopefully be a good mix of comedy and action. Also a familiar face might show up. Hint hint. Who will it be? Watch the story to read the next chapter and find out. Also, if you like video games, check out my youtube channel Achievements4Idiots where we do all kind of guides, things to do, and let's plays. Trying to get more subscribers, so help me out here. Thanks for reading and c-ya guys!


	11. Chpt 11: Taken

Mass tightly gripped the throats of Sarge and Simmons as he held them in the air. He stared at both their visors before throwing them forcefully back to the ground, splashing the sand in all directions. California grabbed Tucker's shoulders and closely examined his armor.

"Let go of me you assholes!" he yelled. California shook his head and stood up.

"Negative on this one, Mass," he called out. "This sure isn't Florida. Must have been some crossed signal or something." Mass grunted at Sarge and Simmons.

"Not a move… or I'll rip your heads off your shoulders," he growled. He turned and made his way towards Tucker. Tucker lifted his hands in the air and waved them around.

"Ohh, now the big scary guy is gunna come manhandle me!" he yelled, sarcastically. "Why don't you bastards just get me help and…" Mass lifted his foot into the air and slammed it down on top of Tucker's leg. He screamed in pain and wriggled across the ground. "AHHHH DAMN IT!"

"Where'd you get your armor!" Mass shouted. He knelt down next to Tucker and grabbed his throat. "TELL ME!"

"It… it used to belong to our Captain!" Tucker quickly replied, gasping for breath. "Before he died!"

"His name!" Mass yelled again, "what was his name!"

"Flowers! Captain Flowers!" Mass grunted again and pushed Tucker's throat away. He stood up and folded his arms, looking over the teal Mark VI armor.

"Well it isn't Butch's armor," he stated, talking to California. "Director must have outfitted him with new gear after he was disbanded."

"But to where?" Rhodes asked.

"Some box canyon in the middle of nowhere," Tucker replied. "What was it called, Simmons?" Simmons put up his hands and shook his head.

"Don't drag me into this, dude," he said quickly. He pointed at Tucker and looked towards Mass. "He's the one you want. Not me."

"Blood Gulch Outpost Number 1!" Sarge yelled. "That was our base in that box canyon. Ours was number one, and there's sucked!"

"Sarge!" Simmons yelled. "Why did you say that?!"

"Because I miss saying it so much," he replied, on the verge of tears. "Valhaldijackalcallit just isn't the same."

"Valhalla," Simmons corrected.

"Enough!" Mass shouted. He lifted his arm to his helmet and spoke into his gauntlet. "Arkansas, come in. Get the coordinates for the Blood Gulch simulation outposts and set a course."

"Roger that," she replied. "What are you hoping to find there." Mass closed his eyes and smirked.

"Let's just say I now remember that place very well." There was a dim light on Mass's shoulder which eventually materialized into a human form.

"Church?!" Tucker cried out. "What are you doing with that guy?"

"Tucker?!" Church responded. "What the fuck?!" Church looked at Mass and motioned towards Tucker. "What are you doing to them? They aren't a part of this!"

"Alpha, what do you know about Blood Gulch?" Mass questioned. Church was silent for a moment before looking away. He was remembered… something that was very difficult to do.

"It's where the Director sent me after the events of Project Freelancer," he replied. "He wanted to isolate me somewhere that no one would ever find me." Mass frowned and tilted his head.

"It was always my understanding that the Director sent you to Sidewinder," he stated.

"He did," Church quickly responded. "But Agent Texas ended up in Sidewinder almost immediately. The Director was afraid it would only lead to more freelancers checking the place out… so I was relocated to Blood Gulch." Mass nodded and turned to California.

"Grab these four and take them to the ship," he ordered. "Maybe they'll be some help to us in Blood Gulch."

"And if they aren't?" California asked. Mass smiled and began walking towards the ship.

"Well, we all have ways to deal with dead weight." Church looked at Tucker, wanting to help, but knowing there was nothing he could do.

"Tucker!" he yelled. "Where's Caboose?" Tucker looked at the windmill, before Sarge quickly chimed in.

"He couldn't make it!" he yelled. "Wasn't enough room in the jeep for all those people!" Mass continued walked and looked at California again.

"Good," Mass muttered, "the less soldiers onboard my ship, the better. I hope these four are happy I'm leaving them alive." California pointed his gun at Sarge and Simmons and motioned them down the beach.

"Get moving you two!" he ordered. Simmons and Sarge slowly got up as Simmons whispered quietly to his leader.

"Why did you lie about, Caboose?" Simmons asked.

"Because they're obviously taking us," Sarge responded. "So Caboose and Grif can still be of use to us on the outside."

"You think they'll come help us?"

"If we're lucky… they'll be smart enough to find someone else to help us."

"Hey!" California yelled. "Enough with the chatter! Pick up your blue friend over there and carry him to the ship!" Simmons and Sarge carefully lifted Tucker and began walking down the beach. California reached down and grabbed Donut, throwing him over his shoulder. He followed close behind the reds and blues as they all boarded Mass's pelican.

"Done!" Grif yelled. "We should be able to get a signal through now!"

"I helped!" Caboose chimed in.

"Yes, Caboose. You did a great job holding the light for me."

"I am a very important person… again."

"Yes we're all very impress…" Grif was cut short as Mass's pelican rose off the ground in the distance and began to take off into the sky. Grif and Caboose stumbled to keep their balance as it soared overhead, and disappeared into the distance.

"Wow!" Caboose yelled. "That was cool! Did you get a picture?"

"What the hell was that about?" Grif asked. "Looked like that same ship we saw at the base a little while ago. The one with the Freelancers in it." Grif looked over the edge of the windmill and saw the empty sand where his teammates used to be.

"What's wrong, Gruf?" Caboose asked.

"Just shut up and follow me!" Grif and Caboose made their way down the windmill and over to the beach. The sand was still fresh with many footprints, more than Sarge, Simmons, Tucker, and Donut could've made by themselves. Grif looked further down the beach and saw the singe marks from where the ship took off, seeing the footprints leading straight to it.

"Where is everyone?" Caboose asked.

"I think someone took them. They might be in trouble!"

"Why would someone want Tucker?"

"Not just Tucker! Donut, Sarge, and Simmons, too! It must have been those freelancers that Rhodes was telling us about!"

"What?! We need to save them!"

"How you idiot? It's not like we just have a ship laying around here to go chasing after them! And what are we going to do if we get to them? We can't fight freelancers! They're freelancers!"

"Maybe those nice people can help us," Caboose said quietly as he pointed behind Grif.

"What people?" he asked as he turned around.

"The ones over there! See? That one has the same armor as you!" Grif turned around and sighed.

"For the last time my armor is orange not… wait… what?"


	12. Chpt 12: Regrouping

Washington stumbled to the front of the small ship, stepping back and forth to keep his balance. He plopped down into the passenger seat, looking out at the vast nothingness in front of him, dotted with stars and passing planets. He glanced down at the old, worn out control panel. Damned if most of those meters and dials even worked anymore.

"So where'd you find this thing, anyways?" Washington asked. Carolina continued to focus on piloting, not stopping to look at Wash.

"My father had a lot of things hidden away," she responded. "It was all a matter of knowing where to look." Washington nodded and leaned back.

"So you did know him?" he asked. Carolina turned to him, only for a moment, before looking back. Wash knew she didn't have to be looking out the windshield. What could she possibly have to dodge? Maybe the sensors were busted and couldn't detect debris in the shuttle's path. But most likely not the case.

"What do you mean, 'know him?' He was my father. Of course I knew him."

"I mean well. You were close to him. It wasn't some distant relationship." Carolina sighed and nodded her head.

"Not until Ryan showed up, anyways," she replied. "Once my father saw what he was capable of creating in Mass… he kept expecting more and more from me. We grew further apart as time went on. Once he got the idea of Project Freelancer in his head, even my mother didn't recognize him anymore."

"Sorry to hear that. I was just curious is all. I know talking about past family members isn't exactly an easy thing to do."

"So what about your brother?" she asked quickly. "Why have you never mentioned him?" Washington sighed and looked away.

"I should have never brought it up," he replied under his breath. Carolina wanted to prod… but she didn't know the situation. How much was Washington willing to take? "He wasn't my biological brother. Same situation as you and Ryan. Except we took him in when he was four. I was six at the time. Got him from an orphanage."

"That was very kind of your parents."

"Yeah. At first I hated the idea. But within no time… I mean… we were best friends. We did everything together. Played sports together, hung out all the time. We even joined the army together."

"Really? What happened to him?" Washington looked out into space, remembering everything he could about his brother. He hated doing it so much. Too many memories… too much pain.

"Well, I rose through the ranks faster than he did. Soon I was his superior. I didn't like giving him orders, and he knew that. He was good at taking them though. It was like we always knew what the other was thinking." Washington shook his head, and Carolina knew his eyes were closed under that helmet. Just living in those memories… like she did so many times as well. "He's gone now. Killed in battle… while he was under my command. He didn't follow an order… and it cost him."

"I'm… I'm sorry, David. I had no idea…"

"It's fine. Trust me. There's just some things people are better off not knowing." Suddenly a panel on the front of the ship lit up, as a dot began to travel across a series of glowing lines on the small screen.

"The signal!" Carolina yelled. "It's on the move. Florida is headed somewhere else now."

"Where?" Washington asked. Carolina was typing furiously into a keypad, while keep one hand on the controls.

"It looks like he's on course for another simulation base." Washington leaned forward to look at the map on the display. It read the course of the target and simulated its destination, putting a picture up on the screen of the simulation base. Washington dropped his head and shook it a few times.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Don't stand there like a god damned weirdo!" the yellow soldier screamed. "Don't I even get a hello or anything?!"

"Look, Grif!" Caboose yelled. "It's that nice girl you guys gave to us! Remember?"

"We didn't give her to you!" Grif yelled at him. "It was a surrender. And that's my sister! I don't give her away to anyone!"

"Pfft," she commented. "Don't act so high and mighty. I can take care of myself. And if there's no guys around, I usually do. Ooh ooh."

"Yeah!" Grif yelled. "Wait… what?"

"BLARG!" Grif and Caboose quickly turned to see a massive figure emerge from within the base next to them. He was wearing blue armor and was over seven feet tall. It was an alien with massive jaws and a carbine rifle at his side. He stomped his way towards them and stood only a foot away. Each step made small pebbles jump off the ground and settle back into place. "BLARG!" it screamed again.

"Jesus Christ!" Grif screamed.

"Crunchbite?!" Caboose asked. "I missed you so much! Where did you go all this time?! I thought you were mad at me."

"Blarg?" The alien turned his head and looked at Sister. She shrugged and shook her head.

"Crunchbite?" she asked. "No this is Junior. You know, Tucker's kid."

"Gross," Grif commented.

"Junior!" Caboose began. "You are ginormous! What happened to you?"

"He grew up, Caboose," Grif answered.

"Yup. He tried to go home, but they didn't really want him for some reason," Sister replied.

"Bow chicka honk honk!"

"Yeah, I wonder why," Grif muttered.

"Anyways, he hangs out here with us."

"Us?"

"Base Queen!" a high-pitched voice cried from within the base. Another soldier emerged from the base. His assault rifle was tucked onto his back, and he was wearing pure red armor. The kind that only rookies and sergeants got to wear. "I heard voices out here. Are these messengers from the promise land?!"

"Oh, great… that guy," Grif said sarcastically.

"Hello, travelers!" the Zealot cried. Grif sighed and shook his head.

"Hello!" Caboose yelled.

"Have you come to hear the good news of the flag?"

"No!" Grif stopped. "We need to catch up to our teammates. I think they're in trouble, but we have no ship to go after them."

"Pfft, why not just use ours then?" Sister asked.

"You have a spaceship?" Caboose asked, amazed.

"Yup! Junior was sent back from his planet with a carrier ship. It can fit all of us."

"Blarg honk!"

"He's the only one who can drive it though. And man, when he's been drinking… he can make that thing fly!"

"Aren't spaceships already supposed to… wait… he drinks, like alc… wait, what?"

"Yes!" Caboose yelled. "Let's go!" Grif stuck out his hand and grabbed Caboose's shoulder, holding him back.

"Hold up, idiot! We have no idea where they took our teammates. We need a way to track where they could've gone."

"Why can't we ask your robot friend?" Caboose asked. "He'll help us!"

"How is Lopez going to help us?"

"Woah!" Sister yelled. "You have a friend who's also a robot?!" Grif waved his hand at her to shut her up while he continued to think.

"He's not a friend. He just works for…. Wait… that's it! My friend is a robot!"

"I know!" Caboose screamed happily.

"No, retard, not Lopez!" Grif yelled at him. "Simmons! He's a cyborg. There's a tracking device built into him back at the base. Lopez will know how to run it."

"Well," Sister began, "let's get to the ship then. We'll come with you to get your friends back."

"What?" Grif asked. "Why?"

"Ummm… cause this place sucks!"

"Yes!" the Zealot cried. "And there's no flags in sight. I long for a chance to see one flapping again."

"Also no one ever shows up to our parties anymore," Sister added. "And all the booze is gone."

"Blarg!" Junior agreed. Grif nodded to his sister and then looked at Caboose.

"Then let's do it," he started. "With the five of us, Lopez's mechanical skills, and Doc as a medic, we might actually stand a chance."

"And if we work together… we might stand two chances!" Caboose screamed. Grif pulled his assault rifle off his back and held it at the ready.

"Well guys, saddle up…. Sergeant Dexter Grif is back."

[Author's Note]

Hey guys, Jerem6401 here. Thanks for following the story to all who have. It's one of the most followed RVB stories on the site... which is awesome. If you haven't yet, please also check out the RVB fanfic "Phase One: Genesis" by the Freelancer Collaboration. It's made by a bunch of different authors who all write from the perspective of their own freelancer. Some real, like Carolina, and some fake, like Alaska. I write for Agent Pennsylvania, who is based off Mass in this story. He's a super badass and has some pretty epic and gruesome chapters.

Also, if you haven't, check out my youtube page "Achievements4idiots" where a lot of funny and fun video game videos are posted. And my page on Roosterteeth's site, which is under the named Jerem6401. It have some awesome custom-made Achievement Hunter posters I just finished that are posted on there.

Thanks everyone and see you for the next chapter.

PS. Someone else makes their return at the end of the next chapter. Who will it be? You don't want to miss it.


	13. Chpt 13: What is Omicron?

Sarge and Simmons fell out onto the grass as California threw them off of the ship. They slammed into the ground and pushed themselves to their hands and knees. The air outside was warm, and the sun was high in the sky… as if it ever moved.

"This is the place, right?" California demanded. Sarge was brushing off his armor as Simmons took a quick look around. Rolling green hills, trapped in between high rock walls, with two lonely stone bases on either side. Simmons sighed and shook his head.

"Yup," he replied, "the same shit hole it always was."

"Then where is it?" Mass demanded as he walked off of the ship. He stood behind Sarge and Simmons and folded his arms, scanning the area around him.

"Where's what, Gigantor?" Sarge asked. "This is it. This is Blood Gulch."

"Yeah, I get it," Mass replied. "Where's his base? Talk!"

"Church's?" Simmons asked. "Well… we're at red base… so Church was stationed at blue base. It's on the other side of the canyon. That's how things work in most places. Red on one side, blue on the other. I can draw you a diagram if it would help."

"Oh, stop it with the diagrams!" Sarge yelled. "I told you, they are not always helpful!"

"Yes they are! That's why I use them at all the staff meetings."

"I don't need a diagram on how low our Vaseline supply is!"

"Well if you looked at it, you'd see it plummeted since Donut show up…"

"Stop it!" Mass yelled. "I'm not talking about Alpha you idiots! I'm talking about…" Suddenly his shoulder lit up and Church took shape next to his head.

"Mass," he started. "These guys… are dumbasses. They won't understand anything you're about to say to them." Then, just as quickly, a series of sparks erupted from Mass's other shoulder.

"I agree," Beta added. "Perhaps it would be better to let Alpha converse with them. They seem to understand each other."

"Yeah," Church agreed, "I speak fluent moron." Mass sighed and waved his hand.

"Fine, whatever," he muttered. Church turned to Sarge and nodded.

"Do you guys happen to remember an underground base in this area?" Church asked. Sarge and Simmons looked at each other, before Simmons shrugged his shoulders in confusion.

"Nope… doesn't ring a bell," Sarge responded.

"What?!" Church yelled. "The place with the massive computers?"

"Nope… nothing," Simmons added. Mass grabbed his pistol and stepped towards the reds.

"That's it!" he yelled. "We're wasting time with these idiots! Let's take them out and find this place ourselves!"

"You saw sister naked on the screen!" Church yelled.

"Oh yeah," Sarge remembed.

"Yup," Simmons added as he stood up. "I totally remember where that is. I have the location saved on my map… just in case."

"Follow us!"

"Wash?" Carolina asked. Washington shook in his chair as he woke up. He looked around, expecting to be under attack.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing," Carolina replied. "Just need to check on you every now and again. You took a shot through the chest, Wash. Can never be too sure that you're not unconscious." Washington nodded and looked down at his armor. There was still a massive hole in his chest plate from Wyoming's bullet, with paint ripped away all around it.

"Yeah… I guess you're right."

"Besides, we're getting close to Blood Gulch. Hopefully we can catch Mass before he gets away again."

"And what's your plan if we catch him? You really think we can take him down by ourselves?" Carolina was silent. She reached forward and typed some more information into the computer, seemingly ignoring Washington's question. Finally she sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know, Wash. But I figure… at the very least, we can disable his ship. You know? Stop his plans for the time being." Washington nodded and then sat back in his chair.

"And then what are you hoping? He won't fix the ship? He'll be stranded in Blood Gulch forever?" Carolina smirked under her helmet as the ship started to slow, getting ready for approach.

"Let's just say I don't give up on people as quickly as you do."

"They gone?" Rhodes asked. Four-Seven-Niner nodded and looked down at Donut. He was still unconscious and was leaned up on a wall next to Tucker.

"Yeah," she replied. "They left a little bit ago. Carolina went with them just to watch over the situation, just in case the sim troopers go nuts or something. Not like they'd give Mass are hard time or anything. Hopefully they can steer him away for a while. You know? Get him lost."

"What is the deal with you guys?!" Tucker yelled. Rhodes and 479er turned to looked at him as he pushed away from the wall. He couldn't stand, but Rhodes had supplied him with pain killers for the time being. "Are you with Mass, or against him? If you want to stop him… why not just do it?!" Rhodes pointed out the door, in the direction where everyone left.

"Have you seen this guy?" he asked. "We don't stand a chance against him. The best we can do is try to stall him, until someone who can actually fight him comes along."

"Like Carolina?" Tucked asked. Four-Seven-Niner sighed and turned back around. She looked at the capture unit, sitting against the wall of the ship. She closed her eyes and nodded.

"Unless we come up with something even better."

"Well, this is it," Sarge stated. Mass and California walked up to the massive assortment of computer screens and keyboards.

"Yeah, apparently command set up a post within Blood Gulch," Simmons added, "I guess to watch over us or something." Mass smirked and leaned forward, onto the panel in front of the computers.

"Command didn't make this," he replied. "In fact they would have loved to know about it." Mass leaned back again and folded his arms. "Beta!" Beta appeared on his shoulder in an explosion of lightning.

"Sir?"

"Is he here? Sweep the system. I want every nook and cranny checked." Beta looked at the computer and then vanished in a flash. A few seconds ticked by, before Beta reappeared on Mass's shoulder.

"Ugh..." he started, "yes… he's here." Mass smiled at the comment.

"Who's here?" Simmons asked. Mass turned and pointed at the screen.

"One of the missing AI fragments. The Director stored one of them here to watch over the Alpha."

"There's more of those AI thingamajiggers?" Sarge asked.

"Yes. Omicron." Mass turned back to the screen and stared deep into is blackness. "But this AI is different. No Freelancer was willing to take it."

"Why?" Simmons asked. "Didn't they run armor and special abilities? It would've been helpful, right?" Mass unfolded his arms and closed his eyes.

"Theoretically. But each AI is a harnessed fragment of a full human. Omicron was made when the Alpha was forced to act in adult situations. The Alpha shed its immaturity… which in turn became Omicron."

"So Omicron is a child?" California asked.

"No," Mass quickly replied. "Omicron is just a childish adult. There was only one Freelancer brave enough to take on Omicron for an extended period of time. To go with him to watch over the Alpha."

"Florida?" California asked.

"Exactly. That's why his signal intrigued me so much. Butch's upbeat spirit and playfulness was perfect for Omicron. So the two were stationed together to watch over the Alpha. And it's been hiding this entire time, right where the Director left him. Mass stepped forward again and shouted at the console. "Omicron! Come out! I know you're in there!" There was silence, and the computer remained motionless. "Omicron… RESPOND!" Suddenly the screen blinked a few times, before taking on a yellowish tint.

"Hola!" a high pitch voice yelled back. "What's going on dude? Don't need to come knocking so loud on the old casa. Gunna give me a headache if you keep this up… and all out of aspirin if you know what I mean."

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me," Simmons muttered.

"Vic?" Sarge asked.

"Hey!" Vic shouted. "Mr. Sarge-O! Welcome back. It's been like forever, dude. Thought you died. Held a little funeral service here. Plenty of sadness and all that."

"Omicron, where is your secondary unit?" Mass demanded.

"Not here, Hugey McRoidrage," Vic replied. "Haven't seen him in years."

"He's lying," Beta stated. "I detect Omicron's secondary unit is actually very nearby. Possibly even in the same console."

"Secondary unit?" Simmons asked. Mass nodded and turned to him.

"I told you Omicron was different," he started. "He was so annoying and untrustworthy, that the Director actually split him again. A fragment of a fragment. The Director separated him into the Omicron primary unit, and the Omicron secondary unit. The primary, apparently, adopted the name Vic."

"And the secondary?" Sarge asked. Mass turned back to the screen.

"Well I don't know," he said quietly. "But Beta told me he's in there with you, Vic. So tell me, Secondary… what are you calling yourself nowadays?" Again there was silence, and the screen remained still. "Secondary! Respo..."

"Aww, shut up you dirty Shizno!"


	14. Chpt 14: Realize, Rally, and Ready Up

"So you're telling me that Andy and Vic are AI fragamjiggers?" Sarge asked on the verge of tears. "I always thought they were my friends!"

"Hey, calm down Sargo McOverreact!" Vic yelled. "We can still be friends. What'dya say? Let's hit the old casino in the Vegas Quadrant. Pick up some foxy senioritas!"

"No!" Sarge cried. "Don't you get it?! You the equivalent of a split-pea soup… but you were split from a dirty blue!"

"Oh c'mon!" Church yelled as he appeared on Mass's shoulder. "You're serious right now?" Sarge continued to cry as he whimpered quietly to himself in a small tune.

"Glory, glory to the Red Team."

"Hey, pal," Andy assured. "Would it help if I blew everyone up?" Sarge sniffed a few times and then looked up at the panel again.

"Would the blue die?" he asked.

"I'm a computer program," Church added, "so… no…"

"WAAAHAHAHAHH!" Sarge screamed.

"But Andy, we saw you blow up when Tex took off out of Blood Gulch," Simmons chimed in, "how did you not get destroyed?"

"Omicron was one of the fragments that inherited the Alpha's reassignment trait," Mass replied. "The original Alpha could travel into any electrical device and store itself there. Andy seems to have enjoyed the bomb."

"I wanted to be the center of attention, alright?" he called out.

"Omicron and Sigma were the only two that inherited this specific trait," Mass continued. "We believe Sigma was responsible for many security camera hacks within Project Freelancer. However, there were two other AI who developed a similar, but still different, trait."

"Hmm," Sarge began, "sounds like you're talking about O'Malley."

"O'Malley?" Mass asked.

"Omega," Church corrected. "Tex's AI." Mass smiled and nodded.

"I always liked that one. However, there was one other AI who inherited the trait to travel through radio waves, much like Omega. And it's the only AI fragment still missing in order to restore the Alpha to his full form."

"What?" California asked. "There's another one?" Mass nodded as he unlatched a device from his belt. He threw it to California and turned back to the screen behind him.

"Seal Omicron inside the capture unit and prepare it for reintegration into the Alpha."

"Who Mass!" Church shouted. "Who is the missing fragment."

"Iota," Beta answered as he assimilated on Mass's other shoulder.

"Iota?" Church asked. "Carolina's AI? But I thought the Meta took him."

"He did," Mass replied. "Thus making Iota the only AI to successfully, and willingly, detach itself from the Meta's grasp. You see, when the EMP went off in command, all visual accounts of the Meta suggested that he had seven AIs in his possession. Eta, Sigma, Omega, Gamma, Delta, Theta, and the Beta Tex. Iota was nowhere to be found."

"What if it completely destroyed in the EMP?" Simmons asked. "There wouldn't be anything left, right?"

"The Meta left behind the installation units that connect to a Freelancer's cerebral cortex," California responded.

"Cebreal whatzit?" Sarge asked.

"His brain, jackass," Church simplified. "Freelancers wear chips on the back of their heads that link the AIs into their minds."

"And Iota's unit was never located," California finished. "The Meta must have discarded it after he noticed Iota had gone missing."

"What would make a fragment separate itself from a Freelancer?" Church asked. "I thought they were locked to their assigned soldier. Even Omega preferred to be with Tex."

"The fragments are harnessed emotions and bits of a full person," Mass began, "as I'm sure you understand, Alpha." Church fell silent and looked away. "Iota was the Alpha's righteousness. It's sense of morals. It disagreed with what the Meta was doing, so it fled at its first chance."

"Which was where?" Simmons asked. Mass fell silent as California made his way to the panel behind him.

"We are unsure," Beta responded. "We have a few leads… but it would take far too long to track them all down."

"Man, I hated Iota!" Andy shouted. "I'm glad he went missing! He was such a tattletale!" Mass snapped his head up at those words and turned to look at the monitor.

"Mass?" Beta asked, "your vitals spiked for a moment there. Is everything okay?" Mass closed his eyes and hummed quietly for a moment.

"Tattletale…" he murmured. Then he opened his eyes again and turned around. "California. Secure Omicron." He started walking towards the exit to the cave. "You two!" he shouted, pointing at Simmons and Sarge on the way by. "Come with me! I might still have some use for you."

"Where are you going, Mass?" California asked. Mass looked back over his shoulder and smirked.

"I know where Iota is hiding."

"Hola Hola!" Vic shouted. "Another ship is on the approacharino. Take a look Scary McScarArm." Mass walked back to the monitor as an image came on screen, showing a ship heading towards bloodgulch.

"We've been followed," he growled. "Quick, get Omicron and meet me topside. I'll deal with this!" Suddenly Mass clenched his fists and let out a small roar. He dropped to one knee and gripped the side of his head in agony. Church also appeared to be screaming is some sort of pain, as sparks started to fly from his form. Slowly, Mass returned to normal and took some deep breaths.

"I'm sorry, Mass," Beta began. "I have been holding it in, but I will need to purge again soon." Mass opened his eyes again and fought his way back to his feet.

"It's fine, Beta," he assured. "I prefer you purged yourself in battle, however. So hold out just a little longer." Mass looked at the screen once more, seeing the ship getting closer and closer. "I feel like a fight is on its way."

"Absolutely not!" Doc yelled. "No way, José!"

"José?" Lopez asked as he looked around.

"C'mon guys, please!" Grif pleaded. "The others are in trouble. We have to save them!"

"Yes!" the Zealot cried. "Without our help, the lost will never reach the promiseland!" Lopez shook his head and then looked at sister.

"Pensé que te Maté [I thought I killed you]" he cried. Sister looked at him and folded her arms.

"Oh! I remember you!" she shouted back. "You shot up my armor when I was leaving it out to dry! Jerk!"

"Leaving it out to dry?" Doc asked.

"Umm yeah? From the jell-o wrestling, duh."

"Gross," Doc finished.

"BLARG!" Junior added.

"Everyone just shut up!" Grif yelled.

"For the last time!" Doc began. "I'm a conscientious objector! I won't fight for you!"

"Ya, you're also a fucking medic!" Grif shouted back. "We need you on the field, Doc. We need you doing what you were trained to do." Grif was silent for a moment and then shook his head. "And probably a little more. And Lopez."

"No."

"We need you out there, too! Your engineering expertise will keep this rust-bucket afloat and our weapons in order. We all have our skills, and only all of them combined with solve this!"

"You know," Doc started, "you make a good point." Grif smiled and looked at Sister, nodding to her. "But it's still a no from me, man." Grif snapped his head back and threw his arms into the air in frustration. He stepped forward and jammed his finger into Doc's chest.

"I'm in charge here! I'm a sergeant, and a damn good one! Our best friends are out there, in desperate need of our help. We can't let them down! Now are you really willing to just sit there and let them die?!" There was a moment of silence as Grif's powerful words sunk in to everyone around him. Lopez finally lifted his head and looked directly at Grif.

"Si."

"We're in approach, Wash!" Carolina called out to him. "No doubt Mass will be there waiting for us." Washington nodded and grabbed his helmet, looking down into the visor.

"So what's your plan, Caroline?" he asked. A shiver of realism washed over her right then. Washington never called her by her real name… unless things were bad. "What if we can't do this?" Washington closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Wash?" she asked.

"I can't believe he's not dead," Wash spoke quietly. "Mass faked it. He was around the whole time. Wyoming was back. Four-Seven-Niner, Rhodes, California! They all betrayed us! Betrayed Project Freelancer!" Washington slammed his fist down onto his helmet and took some deep breaths.

"Wash?" Carolina tried again.

"And the worst part is… he's better than us, Carolina! Mass is better than us! He always has been!"

"I know!" she finally yelled. Washington looked up at her, the anger starting to subside a bit. "I had to live my life with him, Washington. But I know we can stop him. He might have Church with him… but I know that he isn't just a computer program anymore… Church will help us. Alone, we might not be able to fight Mass… but we have friends, Washington. That's something Mass has never had in his life." Washington closed his eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry. You're right." Washington turned his helmet around and prepared to put it on. Blood Gulch was getting closer, and landing would occur any minute now.

"It's okay. I just know him better than you do. It was hard, you know? Growing up with a brother who you knew…" she paused" …was always better than you." Washington shook his head and lifted his helmet, sliding it down into place.

"Yeah," he spoke under his breath. "I know."

[Author's Note]

Please leave reviews guys! I love hearing from you. Also check out Jerem6401 on the roosterteeth site and friend me there. While you're at it, check out Achievements4Idiots on youtube and subscribe. It would really help me out. Thanks everyone and keep on reading!


	15. Chpt 15: Escape from Blood Gulch

"We're out of time, Four-Seven-Niner," Rhodes stated. He was pointing to a monitor on the dash, his head down in disappointment. On it was camera feed from the side of the ship, clearly showing Mass and the others emerging from the caves and all instinctively looking towards the sky. Four-Seven-Niner got to the front of the ship and sighed.

"Damn," she added, "I thought those sim troopers could buy us more time."

"Before what?" Tucker asked. He pushed himself away from the wall, while keeping his broken leg tucked securely in the splint Four-Seven-Niner and Rhodes had made for him. "What are you guys stalling for?"

"Mass has made some enemies, kid," Rhodes replied. "We're hoping we don't have to find them… but they'll come find us. If Mass pieces the Alpha back together and manages to copy it, there will be no hope of anything… or anyone… holding him back."

"Wha… what?" Donut asked as he pushed himself off the ground. He put a hand on his head and ran a hand over his forehead. "What happened? I feel like I did after prom night in highschool. Except I don't like this." He ran his hand back through his hair before looking upwards. "Tucker? Is that you? Where's everyone else? Who are those guys? Why do I miss everything?!"

"Shut up, okay?" Four-Seven-Niner began. "Just don't say anything to the big dude and you'll be fine."

"The big dude?" he asked. Suddenly the door to the ship unsealed and slowly lowered to the ground. Mass forced his massive frame into the ship and looked each passenger in the eyes. He grunted and then grabbed Sarge's arm. He ripped him onto the ship and threw him to the floor.

"You're with us, Sarge," he yelled. He turned back as Simmons started to enter and ship and put a hand on his chest. "You're not."

"What?!" Simmons asked, terrified. "You're just going to leave me here? By myself?!"

"He'll die!" Donut cried. "Of exposure!"

"Shut up!" Mass shouted at him. "California!"

"Sir."

"You stay here with the maroon one. That other ship is on approach. Take care of them. We'll regroup with you at our earliest convenience." California shook his head slightly, taking in the information, before lifted his hand into the air.

"But… but, sir. We don't know what's on that ship." Mass smirked and put his hand on a panel next to the doorway.

"I do," he replied. The door slowly closed and resealed with a rush of air. California sighed and turned his head to the sky. He could see the bright object that was the approaching ship. California reached down and pulled the clip out of his DMR, making sure it was fully loaded.

"Wow, some friends," Simmons muttered. California chuckled and put the clip back in his weapon, before lifting it to his shoulder to check his sights.

"You talking about me or you?"

"Oh, I already knew my friends were fucking assholes. But that Mass guy takes the cake. He just left you here? What if there's some kind of alien race on that ship?" California lowered his gun again and shrugged.

"Welp, he's the boss. You gotta do what the boss says, you know? Sometimes people don't realize how tough it is to be the guy who follows every order." Simmons sniffed and shook his head.

"Ya… I guess I wouldn't know." Suddenly the sky was filled with the sound of the ship approaching the ground. It tore towards the terrain, popping a parachute shortly before impact and extending flaps from its sides. It glided and slowed down for a short distance before hitting the dirt in a puff of smoke. California nodded and looked at Simmons.

"This is it," he grunted. Simmons gulped and lifted his weapon. "Just you and me, on this. Don't let me down soldier!"

"I won't!" Simmons yelled. "I'll fight to the end!" The two stepped back and got ready to strike. The smoke from the landing slowly started to fade away. The hatch on the ship shot open, making the remaining smoke fly in all directions. Two soldier stepped out of the ship and squared off with California and Simmons. Simmons lowered his weapon a bit and tilted his head.

"Wash?" he asked. "Carolina?"

"Oh dear lord," Washington muttered as he slapped a hand on his helmet.

"Not another step you two!" California yelled as he pointed his DMR directly at Carolina's visor. "You two have gone far enough!"

"We're the ones going too far?!" Carolina yelled back. "Look at yourself, California. You used to be on that leaderboard in Project Freelancer! With us! Now look at you. Serving out orders for one of your peers. Like you're some sort of slave."

"You think you get it?!" California screamed. "You think you had it so tough?! You got special treatment! You… Tex… York… Wash… Maine! You were all the important ones. I was nothing! Mass is the only one who willingly stepped out of that spotlight, for the betterment of the team. Instead of doing everything he could to remain the center of attention, like you! He understands what it was like to never be in the spotlight! To be one of the unknowns! Like me and Rhodes!"

"Rhodes is with you, too?" Wash asked. "Where is Mass getting all these troops?"

"He has friends, Wash," California replied. "Something you wouldn't understand." Washington fell silent and clenched his fists together.

"I had friends, California," he growled.

"Yeah, and where are they now? Both killed by other Freelancers. Wyoming and South did what they had to. And now you're about to end up just like them!" California turned his head and nodded to Simmons. "You're with me, right? You'd better be, or this is gunna end quick for you." Simmons shook his head in realization and raised his weapon.

"Uh… yeah, I'm with you," he replied. "I… I'll take them out!" Carolina dug her back foot in and charged forward at California. He began shooting, spraying dirt off the ground all around the teal soldier. She reached her target and threw a punch, which California knocked out of the way. He kicked Carolina back and jumped into the air, throwing two kicks before landing again. Carolina dropped her hand to the ground and threw her legs up, slamming her boot into California's helmet. He flew back and skipped off the ground to his feet.

"Face it, California!" she yelled. "You were never at my level." California grunted and lifted his right arm. Two semicircles of metal launched from his gauntlet and connected, forming a shield over his forearm. He slowly stood up and dropped his DMR to the ground. He held out his left arm as a massive blade extended from his wrist and shimmered in the sunlight. He pointed downwards and ripped his arm sideways, slicing a line in the ground in front of him. Then he held his arms back and prepared to take off.

"There's still time to prove myself!" he yelled.

"Get this ship in the air!" Mass yelled.

"Sir… shouldn't we wait for California?" Rhodes asked. Mass turned to him and grabbed his chestplate, pulling him in.

"Are you questioning my orders, soldier?" he asked, grimly. Rhodes coughed slightly and shook his head.

"No, sir… I would never… I mean…" he paused as Mass let go of him. "I suppose California can beat them." Mass turned to the cockpit and grunted. He looked Rhodes in the eyes again as he made his way to the front of the ship.

"No, he can't." Rhodes fell silent as Mass moved away. He suddenly stopped and snapped his head back. Rhodes could hear Mass shudder as a jolt ran up his spine. After a moment, Mass stopped and took some deep breaths. He slowly reached down and pulled a knife out of its sheath on his leg. He looked at it closely, examining how sharp it was, before turning around to face the back of the ship. He glanced over at Rhodes and bore his teeth.

"I'll be in the back… and I will only say this once, Darryl… do not… interrupt me." Rhodes nodded as Mass walked to the back of the ship, entered the back room and sealed the door behind him. Rhodes shook his head and few times and looked back at Sarge.

"Who are they fighting out there?" he asked.

"Two former Freelancers," Rhodes replied. "Agents Carolina and Washington. I can't say I'm confident in your friend out there. I wish there was something we could do."

"Son… did you just say… Agent Washington?" Rhodes's eyes flicked open and he tilted his head.

"Yeah… why?"

"Pfft," Tucker began. "Simmons isn't gunna beat him, and I bet Wash will never let him hear the end of it." Rhodes raised an eyebrow as the ship's engines started to power up.

"The ship!" Wash yelled. "Mass is trying to get out of here! Carolina, handle California, I'll get the ship!" Washington ran forward and jumped for the first engine, trying to smash it. Suddenly bullets began flying in his direction, pinging off the metal of the ship and stopping Wash in his tracks. He stepped back and turned his head to the attacker.

"Oh, God!" Simmons yelled. "I'm sorry, Wash, but… SUCK IT BLUE!"

[Author's Note]

Hey guys, Jerem6401 here. Couple of things. First off, I want to assure everyone that this story is completely planned out to the very end, so I can tell you that it will be around 23 chapters totally, give or take. I feel like that's a standard number for an RVB season. Also I will spoil that there will be another Freelancer making an appearance in this story around chpt 20. Only one. I wonder who? Also for the people asking to please see Maine vs Mass, I won't say whether or not that will happen in this story, but I will say that you can check out the RVB Fanfic "Phase One: Genesis" by the Freelancer Collaboration on this website. One of the most recent chapters features a fight between Maine and Penn. I write for both freelancers and Penn is directly based off of Mass. So if you want to experience Maine vs Mass right now, head over there. Those two are sure to clash in that story again, so make sure to follow it. Thanks guys, and see you at RTX!


	16. Chpt 16: Who Pulls the Strings?

Carolina ducked out of the way as California's massive blade swung over her head. She regained her footing and threw a punch, which collided with California's shield, making all her knuckles crack in the process. She shook the pain away from her hand as she stepped back. California took his chance and rushed forward, slamming his shield into Carolina's chest and knocking her to the ground. She closed her eyes and braced for impact as her back embedded itself into the soil. She opened her eyes and saw California hovering over her, his blade cocked back and ready to stab. She quickly rolled to the side as he smashed his arm into the ground, burying his blade four feet into the dirt.

"Simmons, cut it out!" Washington yelled as he dodged repeated attacks from the frenzied simulation trooper. Simmons continued to fire his weapon, discharging five rounds at a time from his assault rifle. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I have to Washington!" he yelled. "That California guy will kill me if I don't!" Washington leapt at Simmons in an attempt to grab and subdue him. Simmons jumped in surprise and fell backwards onto his rear end. Washington stumbled when his foot hit, the now grounded, Simmons, making him crash straight onto his face. Simmons jumped back to his feet and turned his head in surprise. He lifted his weapon and aimed it at Washington's visor as he slowly turned around. Simmons pulled the trigger and heard nothing but an empty clip. He fired again and again, but still nothing but clicks.

"Heh, out of ammo again, huh?" Washington asked playfully.

"What?!" Simmons cried. "I was counting! I should still have fifteen shots left! Damn it, Grif!" Washington jumped up and swatted the weapon out of Simmons's hands. It tumbled through the air and landed helplessly on the ground next to the ship. Washington reached out and grabbed Simmons by his armor, pulling him in.

"Enough!" he yelled. "I'm not your enemy here! We need to stop that ship before it…" Suddenly the ground started to shake as the ship slowly left the ground. "NO!"

Carolina and California continued to exchange blows, each one managing to block or dodge any fatal strikes. California threw a punch, his blade missing Carolina by centimeters. She grabbed his elbow and ripped him over her shoulder, slamming him into the dirt. California quickly rolled to his side and slashed at Carolina, making a large gash in the front of her chestplate. She stumbled backwards and put a hand over the cut, making sure it didn't break through to her skin. When she looked back up California was already back on his feet and loading up a kick. He slammed his boot into Carolina's chest, rocketing her backwards into a tree. Her knees felt like they were going to give out as the impact took her breath away. She shook her head, trying to get her vision to clear up once again. The split images in front of her eventually focused into California lunging towards her, his blade aimed at her throat. Carolina quickly dropped to the ground, letting California's attack fly over her. His blade dug into the tree, exploding out of the other side. Carolina jumped back to her feet and chopped California in the back of the head, stunning him. Then she spun around and slammed her boot into his blade on the other side of the tree, bending it and locking California into place.

"What?!" he shouted. He tried to pull his arm free, but his blade was completely hooked around the trunk in front of him. Carolina took her time loading up her next punch, making sure it was directed straight into California's forehead. She unleashed a massive blow, severing California's blade at the wrist and sending him flying backwards into the ship. He slid off the metal and dropped to the ground below. His visor was a spiderweb of shattered glass and a massive dent adorned the right side of his helmet. He slowly got to his hands and knees and pulled his helmet off, dropping it to the ground. He coughed a few times, letting droplets of blood spray the ground below him.

"Simmons, get back!" Washington yelled. He jumped up as the ship started to get higher off the ground. He grabbed onto the engine and reached down to his belt. California looked up, seeing Washington pull a grenade from its holster and pop the pin out with his thumb. A grenade in the engine would take the ship down in no time. California couldn't let that happen.

"NO!" he shouted. California leapt off the ground and expertly snatched the grenade out of Washington's hand. Washington lost his grip from the assault and tumbled away from the ship. California crashed into the dirt, the grenade bouncing to a stop next to him. His eyes widened and he put his shield in front of his face. The grenade detonated, launching California backwards and making him skid across the ground. He came to a stop and laid motionless in the dust. Washington looked up and saw Mass's ship point towards the heavens and rocket into the distance.

"Damn it!" Carolina yelled. "NO! We had him!" She turned to her side and slammed her fist into the tree, making the trunk explode into a spray of splinters and shards of wood. She took some deep breaths and started to shake her head. She slowly turned to look at California and grunted. She made her way towards him and knelt down next to him. She rolled him over and sighed. His face was a puzzle of burnt skin and blood stains. His armor was shredded and his shield was nothing more than a dented piece of metal. One of his eyes was still barely open, and he was skipping every other breath. Washington approached the two and tucked his weapon onto his back.

"California," he said quietly. "Look at you. What did you do to yourself?"

"Me?" he asked between coughs. He spit some blood onto the ground next to him. "Stop treating me like the bad guy. I'm not the traitor here, you are. Both of you! We… we were Freelancers. We made a promise to the Director. The man who g… gave us everything. You betrayed him and his visions. It wasn't enough for you to just stop him from achieving his goals, was it? Now you have to try and stop Mass from avenging his death and completing what the Director could only dream of? I'm not the villain here, Caroline! You are! You betrayed your father and everything he stood for." California coughed again and dropped his head back onto the ground. "You could never live up to Mass or the Director. And you'll spend the rest of your life wishing you still had them." California's chest jumped into the air and then dropped flat onto the ground again. His breathing slowed and eventually fell to silence. His eye was still slightly open, staring endlessly into the sky above him. Carolina closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.

"He's wrong, Carolina," Washington stated. "Your father never would have wanted this for the Alpha. For Project Freelancer." She nodded and sighed.

"I know, Wash. But look at us. Fighting all of our old friends. I mean… what happened to us?"

"Mass," Washington replied. "That's what happened. And we need to stop him."

"Well go after him!" Simmons yelled. "You have a ship, right? Let's pile in."

"We can't," Carolina stated. "The ship sustained too much damage when we entered the atmosphere. This was supposed to be a one way trip. It'll take at least a day to get it fixed, and even if we repaired it, there's only room for two." Simmons sighed and threw his arms in the air.

"Just fucking great!" he yelled. "I'm going to get left here anyways. And you two killed the only person I could talk to." Simmons looked at California and shook his head. "I bet he would've been so impressed with my tales of adventure."

"Better get to work," Washington said. He looked at the ship, when suddenly the radio sets of all three soldiers lit up with an incoming signal.

"Come in Blood Gulch!" it called out. "Come in Blood Gulch." Washington looked at Carolina and then at the sky.

"What the hell?!" They all looked up and saw the outline of a massive ship coming in and slowly hovering over the landscape. It was a deep purple and blue fire was leaping from its engines.

"That's impossible!" Carolina yelled. "This planet is completely barren. Even the simulation base is abandoned. Who the hell would come here?"

"I repeat, is anyone there? Do you copy?"

"BLARG!"

"Who's down there? Do they need medical help? If so, tell them I said HI!"

"Suena como si estuviera en la radio? [Do I sound like I'm on the radio?]"

"Oh shut the hell up, all of you! I'm in charge, I handle the communications!"

"I am excellent at communifications! I can use the telephone… with both hands!"

"Oh… my… god," Washington muttered at the sound of the voice.

"You've got to be kidding me," Simmons began, "is that?..."

"This is Sergeant Grif. Here to make a pickup."

Drops of blood fell to the ground, making a small pool. Mass sat alone in the darkness as small sparks of blue lightning shot up his spine and circled around the base of his head. He ground his teeth together as he dug his knife deeper and deeper into his arm. Finally he released the breath he had been holding and dropped his knife to the ground. He took some deep breaths and stared straight ahead. His eyes were wide open, but slowly began to close.

"Today's purge is complete," Beta reported as he assimilated on Mass's shoulder. Mass started to breath normally again and nodded his head.

"Finally," he muttered.

"I'm sorry about this session's abnormally large amount of stimulus, but I had been containing for longer than usual." Mass opened his eyes again and stared at the blackness in front of him.

"Nevermind that. Beta. I need you to do something for me."

"Yes, Ryan. What can I do?"

"I need you to set up a secure communications line for me, so Arkansas can't pick it up in the front of the ship. Can you do that?"

"Yes… but why?"

"Just set up the communications line. I'll handle the rest." There was a moment of silence, before Beta reported in once again.

"Line set. Sending relay now." The silence was broken by a series of rings, which eventually gave in to an automated message.

"This is a secure communications channel in relation with a UNSC maximum security facility," it stated. "Please use the main communication line to speak with repre…."

"Override code Alpha Seven Bravo," Mass spoke. The machine stopped and gave into a slight hum. After a few moments, a voice responded.

"Agent Massachusetts," it said in a dignified tone. "It is a pleasure to speak with you again. I was beginning to question my faith in you, soldier. How goes our mission? Are my prisoners in custody yet?"

"California will no longer be a problem. He was killed resisting arrest."

"Agent Massachusetts, dead agents will be of no use to me or my facility. I thought I made that clear when we made our arrangement."

"Agents Rhode Island and Arkansas are within my custody. And I will hand deliver them to you, as promised."

"Excellent Agent Massachusetts. Splendid news. I cannot fathom how those two managed to escape, but it will be a pleasure to have them locked up once again. Your payment will be in full of course. I knew I could trust you."

"But can I trust you? I thought I made it clear I didn't want any information withheld from me in relation to Project Freelancer."

"I can assure you that you have received all relevant information to the project."

"Oh, really? Because I'm deciding to change my payment."

"Agent Massachusetts. I have promised you a very large sum of money. It is more than enough to make this a fair exchange."

"I don't want money anymore, Chairman. I want that fragment!" There was a silence. Mass waited for any response, before the Chairman's voice rang out again.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Agent."

"Is that so? The Iota fragment still hasn't been located. The Alpha's sense of morality. It saw what the Meta was doing and wanted to confess to someone. When Iota thought the Director was corrupted as well, he decided to go over his head. So tell me, Chairman, how did you know what the Director was doing within Project Freelancer? Who told you about the Meta and his multiple fragments? Who told on Project Freelancer?" Mass waited for a response, but none came. "So here's the new deal. If you want Arkansas and Rhodes back in your custody, if you want to retain the reputation of your 'maximum security' facility… then you will give me the Iota fragment." Mass closed his eyes and put a small smile across his face. The strings had been cut, and were now hanging from his hands. The Chairman cleared his throat and gave a small sigh.

"Meet me at my facility, Mr. Cass. Bring me Arkansas and Rhode Island." Mass chuckled a bit as Beta stared inquisitively at his host.

"And I will give you the Iota fragment."


	17. Chpt 17: The Chairman

"So let me get this straight," Washington began, "you assembled a team?"

"Yes," Grif replied.

"All by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Consisted of an alien, a medic, a robot, a ditzy girl…"

"Hey!" Sister yelled.

"Hello!" Caboose responded.

"…and Caboose."

"Yes," Grif answered again.

"And you did this to try and save me and Carolina?"

"Ummmm, no dude. You guys are fucking freelancers. Like we were really going to be any help to you."

"Good point," Carolina agreed.

"No, we came here for Simmons."

"What?" Simmons exclaimed. "I can handle myself you know, Grif! I'm very cool under pressure."

"Oh, really? What about the time the clocks on our HUDs got all screwed up and you screamed 'it's the end of the world as we know it!' and then hid in the base for five days?!"

"Hey! You don't mess with sign of the apocalypse. You'll thank me when you're not burning with the rest of the planet one day."

"Stop!" Washington yelled. "Focus! Where did you get this ship from, and what the hell is it?"

"It's Junior's," Sister replied. "His race gave it to him to take here. They said they don't need it back. It wasn't stolen if that's what you're thinking. Which it definitely was! Cop!"

"Jesus Christ," Washington muttered.

"So… this thing is on our side?" Carolina asked, motioning to Junior.

"Blarg?"

"Umm, he doesn't like the word 'thing,'" Sister answered.

"Sé cómo te sientes [I know how you feel]," Lopez whimpered to Junior.

"Junior's friendly," Doc added. "He's Tucker's son. I birthed him. We go way back. Right buddy!"

"Bow chicka honk honk!"

"Is it really not sinking in how fucked up this is?" Washington asked Carolina.

"Trust me," she started. "I've seen some weird stuff, Washington." She looked at Junior, then over to Doc and Sister, and finally to Caboose.

"Hello."

"But, yeah… this one's up there," she agreed. "Nevertheless, these guys have a working ship. They might be able to get us to Mass."

"What?!" Simmons yelled. "You're still going after that guy? He'll kill you!"

"He also has your sergeant and friends in his custody," Washington stated. "Who knows what he'll do to them. Especially if he's successful in cloning Church."

"Pfft, fuck those guys! They wouldn't come after me if I was gone. Why should I help them?"

"Hey!" Grif yelled. "I came for you didn't I? You're supposed to be Sarge's favorite, Simmons! His right hand man! He's probably counting on you saving him! After all that ass-kissing and sucking up you do, you're not even willing to give this a try? I mean c'mon! You're like a son to him or something!"

"You… you really think so?" Simmons asked.

"I don't know, but you'll never find out if we don't chase those guys down and get our friends back!" Simmons sniffed and looked at the ship.

"C'mon, Mister Simmons!" Caboose yelled. "Let's get Tucker, Mister Seargent, and Commander Flufflebuns back!" Simmons nodded and pulled out his weapon.

"Fine… let's do this!"

"So… where'd they go?" Doc asked. There was a silence as Washington looked over at Carolina. She shook her head and shrugged.

"Crap," Grif muttered. "Well it was a good try guys."

"We don't exactly know," Carolina slowly stated. "I think he's heading back to his base, but that could be any of the original Freelancer establishments. No telling which one he's bunkered down in."

"Aquí! [Over Here!]" Lopez called. The group looked over to see him a bit further down the field. He was kneeling next to California's body. A wire was extending from Lopez's chest and connecting to California's helmet.

"Audio log 34," a voice spoke from Lopez's helmet.

"Wait… I understood that!" Grif yelled. "Simmons! I think I finally learned Spanish!"

"That's not Spanish, idiot!" he shouted back. "Lopez is playing some sort of recorded message off of the dead guy's armor."

"The mission retrieving the Alpha was successful. I'm sorry to say that two of our own were trying to protect him. Carolina and Washington. Both still alive. I can't believe they think what Mass is doing is wrong. I mean… I trust him. I think." There was a pause, before California's voice returned. "Rhodes doesn't seem to believe in him as much as I do. I keep hearing rumors that Mass is doing something behind our backs. But I'm sure he just has information that is best kept secret. Besides, being with him is better than being locked up in the Chairman's dungeon. Damned if he wouldn't pay a pretty penny to get us back. Once we track down the missing piece of the Alpha, we'll be good to move on. Mass keeps saying there's only one fragment left to find. Said it was Carolina's." Carolina slowly looked up and started into the distance. "But that doesn't really make sense. Omicron didn't belong to her. She got Eta and Iota, I think. I think Mass just got a little messed up. I don't know… maybe I'm wrong. Anyways, we think we've found out where the fragment is hiding. Wyoming is back taking care of those two while we hunt it down. Not that I like Wash or Carolina… but they were still freelancers. Worked alongside me, you know?" He sighed and you could hear him fiddling with the audio device, preparing to shut it off. "I just… I hope Wyoming makes it quick." The audio cut out, and the valley fell silent again.

"Hmm," Caboose started, "if my assumptations are correct. They went home! They are probably waiting for us with milk… and cookies! I… love… cookies."

"Are you sure Mass is a bad guy?" Doc asked. "Sounds like a cool character to me."

"Carolina?" Washington asked when he saw her still staring at the sky.

"I just… I just remembered something Wash," she stated. She turned her head and looked at him. "Iota. My AI, Washington. He was ripped out of me by the Meta. Before he left I could hear him screaming in my helmet. 'I have to tell. I have to tell on Sigma!'" Washington nodded and looked at the ship.

"So you think Iota tried to tell on Maine?" he asked.

"But who could he tell, Washington? My father?" Washington thought for a moment and then looked up. He thought back to his time locked up in prison. When he met with the Chairman.

"I am someone extremely upset with the destruction of said property," he remembered the Chairman saying. How valuable he found those fragments. How he released Washington after hearing about Epsilon.

"I think I know where Mass is going," Washington stated. He looked at Carolina and nodded. "We need to go see the Chairman."

"Blarg?" Junior asked.

"Yup," Sister replied. "We're ready to head out again, big guy. Hop in the ship and let's fly this bitch outta here!"

"Wash, are you nuts?" Carolina asked. "You're supposed to be dead. That guy will put millions of dollars on our heads if he finds out we're still alive. What if Mass isn't even there?"

"Listen, the prison will go on high alert if some freelancers show up," Washington stated. "But what if someone else got charged with a little… misdemeanor?" He and Carolina slowly turned their heads to look at Simmons. He looked back and forth between them and sighed.

"Aww… crap."

"Let us go!" Four-Seven-Niner shouted. Two massive guards held her by the arms and dragged her away. Rhodes was behind her, handcuffed with glowing green lasers and a giant metal case around his body. "Mass you bastard!" Mass looked back at them and smirked. He turned away just as a massive door in front of him lifted to the ceiling. Behind it was a large chamber, with a solitary desk at the other side. The Chairman sat there, strumming his fingers along the desk's surface and staring into Mass's visor.

"Hello, Agent Massachusetts," he began, "so lovely to see you again."

"There you are, Chairman," Mass stated as he stepped into the room. The giant door dropped down behind him and locked into place. Mass lifted his hands, motioning behind him to where he used to be. "Two freelancers, wrapped up like presents." The chairman smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"Yes, yes," he agreed. "I supposed you would like your payment now. The Iota fragment, is that correct?" Mass took another stepped forward.

"Of course."

"However… I _did _ask you for three freelancers, Mr. Massachusetts. You only provided me with two. So I think it's only fair that I take the full price of that original agreement." Suddenly doors all around the chamber shot open and fifteen armed guards ran into the room. Their guns were at the ready and aimed directly at Mass. He slowly looked around the circle, taking in each solider glaring at him. "Now just put your hands up and surrender… like a good soldier." Mass smiled under his helmet and titled his head to the side. He lifted his hands into the air and held them well above his head. The first guard moved in, while the others kept their guns with triggers halfway pressed. The first guard took out some handcuffs and then pointed at Mass.

"Let me see your wrists," he commanded. Mass looked down at him as a bolt of blue lightning shot up his spine and around his helmet. The guard gasped as Mass's hand quickly shot down and grabbed his throat. Mass took hold of the man's shoulder and ripped his arms in separate directions, quickly separating the man's head from his body. The other soldiers immediately opened fire, but in a flash, Mass was gone. Their fire stopped and the guards scratched their heads. The Chairman sat forward and stared in horror at where Mass used to stand, which was now nothing but a pool of the first guard's blood.

"He still has his armor ability?" he asked quietly. Suddenly Mass reappeared behind another guard and grabbed his head. He snapped the guard's neck and lifted his assault rifle, firing and dropping three other soldiers. The guards at the other end of the room opened fire, but Mass lifted the dead body and used it as a shield, running towards them. He launched the body at them and then vanished. The body hit them, pressing them against the wall. Mass appeared next to them, with his pistol out. He fired, sending a bullet traveling down the line of three guards, tearing through each of their helmets. They all dropped, leaving only seven guards left. Mass disappeared and reassembled next to the group, he threw his arms apart making a surge of blue electricity rush from his body. The guards screamed in pain and grabbed their heads as Beta rushed through their systems. They staggered away and huddled into a tightly packed group of six. Mass grabbed the seventh soldier and held him close. He ripped the pins off of the soldier's three frag grenades and tossed him back to the group. Mass then disappeared just as the group of seven soldiers erupted into an explosion of fire and blood. The Chairman covered his face as he was showered with the death of his own guards. He slowly took his hands away from his face, but was greeted with nothing more than Mass's chestplate. He was leaning on the Chairman's desk, his helmet sitting on its surface and a massive smile across his face. Mass reached down and grabbed the Chairman's throat, lifting him from his chair.

"You really think I wasn't expecting a doublecross from you?" he asked. "I knew you would try and backstab me! Just like everyone else who was against Project Freelancer!" He threw the Chairman back down and pulled out his pistol. He pointed it directly at the Chairman's forehead and pressed it against his skin.

"Stop!" The Chairman yelled. "Agent Massachusetts, stop! Here! Here take it!" He reached into his coat and grabbed the necklace hanging around his neck. He ripped it off and dropped it onto the desk. It was a thin silver chain, with a data chip hanging from it as a pendant. Mass examined it, immediately knowing what it held. He picked it up and smirked.

"Thank you for your donation, sir," Mass then grabbed the Chairman again and pulled him close. "And since I have the Engineer on board my ship… I think this prison will be an excellent place to finally reassemble and duplicate the Alpha. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Wh… what about me?" the Chairman asked.

"You?" Mass replied. "Oh… I'm not going to kill you, sir." The Chairman sighed in relief, but Mass still held him tight. "I need you, so the guards don't give me any trouble while I repair the Alpha. Then…" he chuckled, "then there's someone else I know who is just _dying _to meet you." The Chairman's eyes widened as Mass pulled him from his desk and dragged him across the floor, through the blood, and out the door.

[Author's Note]

In case you didn't know, everyone. This Friday is the first episode of RVB season 11. The real thing. So make sure you all tune it to watch that. I know I will. In celebration I'm planning on releasing a new chapter for this fanfic every day this week. Hopefully number 20 will be out on Friday, bringing me to the end of this story, or at least very very close. I wanted this to be done before the actual Season 11 premiers, so I don't have to deal with further continuity errors as the story of RVB progresses. So this post is the one for Tuesday. Expect number 18 sometimes on Wednesday, 19 on Thursday, and 20 on Friday. If 20 doesn't wrap up the whole story, then 21 will be the finale on Saturday. So watch for more from Red vs Blue: Reimagining. Thanks guys!

-Jerem6401


	18. Chpt 18: Sibling Rivalries

"You mean to say… this guy got busted for espionage?" the guard asked, looking down at a tablet device in his hands. He looked back up at the maroon soldier, his hands tied behind his back. Holding him was an orange soldier, looking back and forth between the two guards in front of him.

"Umm…" Grif started, "yeah."

"Yup," Simmons chimed in happily. "I'm a stone cold killer, sir!" The guards looked at one another and shrugged.

"Look… I'm inclined to just kind of believe you, and lock him up, since it's been such a long day here and all," the guard began.

"Ah, the old 'fuck it' rule," Grif sighed. "Never fails."

"But I'll have to check on this," the guard finished. "What's your rank soldier?" He held up his tablet and got ready to beginning filling out some forms.

"Uhh, Sergeant?" Grif spoke nervously. The guard looked up and raised his eyebrow.

"Was that an upward inflection I heard?" he asked. The other guard lifted his weapon and aimed it at Grif.

"Aww, crap," he muttered.

"BLARG!" The two guards spun around as Junior jumped from the side and slammed his massive arm into them, clotheslining then both to the ground. Simmons jumped back and snapped the fake bands around his wrists.

"Nice one, Junior!" he yelled.

"Intruder Alert!" The prisons shouted. Three more guards ran from the building, their guns at the ready. Grif and Simmons both reached down and pulled out two magnums each and began firing at the oncoming attackers. The three dropped and collapsed onto the floor. A siren began to go off as more guards started to make their way to the entrance. Flooding towards the new attackers. Further away on a dark side of the prison wall, Carolina and Washington watched the entire situation go down.

"Well," Carolina started, "that's our cue, Wash." Washington nodded as he held open a ventilation cover on the outside of the complex. Carolina snuck inside first, followed by Washington, as he closed it gently behind him.

"Suck it, blue!" Simmons yelled, "and you too gray! Suck it colorless!"

"You two, hold it right there!" a guard yelled. He jumped at Grif from the left side, leaving him no time to defend himself. Suddenly a bullet slammed into the guard's helmet, making him fly away and skid across the ground.

"Back off my big brother!" Sister yelled. "No one jumps on anyone in this family unless I say it's okay!" Grif nodded to her and lifted his pistols.

"Yeah!" he yelled in triumph. Then he lowered the pistol again and titled his head. "Wait… what?" Suddenly two massive gates on the front of the complex opened, revealing twenty more guards, again ready to fire on the team. They all clicked their weapons into place and got ready to fire.

"Careful guys!" Doc yelled from the ship. "This thing is reeeeaaalllly loud!" Lopez stood next to Doc, a massive minigun in his hands. It started to spin up and a hailstorm of bullets rained down on the guards. Several of them dropped to the floor, while others started to fire back.

"Ayúdame a dispararles, medic [Help me shoot them, medic]" Lopez yelled.

"I can't!" Doc screamed back. "I told you guys, I'm a pacifist!" Grif and Simmons started to back up as more and more bullets flew in their direction. Junior smashed another guard in the chest, but was soon overwhelmed as five more wrestled him to the ground. Caboose ran to Doc, holding something in his hands.

"I was like you once," he spoke quietly. "I never wanted to be in the battlement! But I can help! You just have to think angry thoughts!"

"Angry thoughts?" Doc asked. "No, that's not like me, Caboose."

"Yes it is! You just have to be angry! What makes you angry?"

"Well… I get kind of mad when people say track is a stupid sport."

"Tracks! Yes! What else?"

"I don't like it when people say I'm weak… I'm just peaceful. I'm actually pretty strong. I was the stop student in PE. The vocal parts of course!"

"C'mon Doctor Doc! Meaner!"

"Guys, we're getting shot up down here!" Grif yelled. "We're going to have to fall back!"

"Oh God, help!" Simmons screamed.

"And I really… really… hate it when people call me Doc!" Doc yelled. "That makes me angry!" He looked down at what Caboose was holding. He grabbed it and jumped off the ship, landing in front of Grif and Simmons.

"Doc?" Simmons asked. He snapped his head around and glared at Simmons.

"My name is DuFresne!" he shouted, in a low raspy voice. He wheeled around, revealing the massive rocket launcher he now held. He aimed it at the group of guards and laughed maniacally. "PREPARE TO TASTE OBLIVION YOU FOOLISH FOOLS!" He fired a missile which annihilated the group of guards, sending bodies in all directions. "Mwahahahaha!"

"Alright, Doc!" Sister yelled. "Way to be totally psycho creepy! It's kind of hot!" Junior threw the other men off of him, while Lopez continued to gun down the rest. Simmons leaned down to reload his pistols, but when he looked back up, two more guards were right in front of him, their guns pointed directly at his head.

"Yipe," he quietly squeaked. Then two gunshots rang out and pierced the air around the group. The two final guards looked at one another, before looking down at their own chests, where blood was beginning to seep forward. They slowly dropped their weapons and collapsed. Simmons looked at them and then turned around. He saw Caboose standing there in the silence, his gun in his hands.

"Hello." Simmons sighed and nodded to him.

"Good save, Caboose!" he yelled. Caboose shook his head and shrugged.

"Oh, no, that wasn't me," he admitted. "I didn't bring any bullets. Ummm… I think they betrayed me." Simmons titled his head.

"Wait… then who…"

"Yes! Another two kills in the name of the glorious flag! Victory will be our comrads! Victory will be ours!" The Zealot jumped up and down, waving his pistol in the air.

"Awww, Jesus."

"Alright, men!" Grif yelled. "Let's get in there and find the rest of our squad. Remember, Sarge and our friends are counting on us!"

"We're doomed," Sarge muttered. He sat in a jail cell, next to Tucker and Donut.

"Yeah, what was your first clue?" Tucker asked. "The fact that we're all alone with the huge, psychotic dude, or that our only hope is Caboose?"

"Hey," Donut butted in. "What about Grif and Simmons? They'll come for us!"

"What are you a moron?!" Sarge yelled. "Simmons is a coward, and Grif is a stupid, lazy coward. They'll never come for us!" Sarge buried his face in his hands and shook his head.

"Hey!" Mass yelled, banging his fist against the bars. "Quiet down in there. I expect you to be good little soldiers while I'm gone."

"Gone?" Donut asked. "Where are you going? I thought we were just getting to know each other. I'm starting to like you. Don't you get a sense of… what's that thing called where I like you?"

"Homosexuality?" Tucker asked.

"Stockholm syndrome," Mass corrected. "And no." He turned away from the cell and approached the Chairman. "We have a date with the Alpha. Fully repaired… and ready to be copied."

"Church!" Tucker yelled. "I know you're in there! Stop him!" There was a bright flash of light, as particles appeared and broke down to form a small figure. Church appeared on Mass's shoulder, his head held low.

"Tucker, I can't," he said quietly. "Mass is right… I'm broken. I need to be repaired."

"He's going to copy you!" Donut yelled. "Make more of you!"

"And that's just awful!" Sarge followed.

"Hey, might not be so bad," Church reasoned. "More of me? We can talk about how much we hate you guys." Tucker sighed and shook his head.

"Yeah… hate you too, man." Church looked at him and rubbed the back of his head.

"Tucker… Tucker, I…"

"Enough!" Mass yelled. "Beta! Assimilate!" An eruption of sparks came from Mass's other shoulder, as Beta took form.

"Yes, Mass?" he asked.

"Prepare to be combined with the Alpha once again. Remember, you're just as much a missing fragment as the others."

"What?" the Chairman asked. "I had no idea you still had the Beta gramnet! How many of these AIs are still separated from the Alpha?"

"Four," Mass replied. "Beta, Iota, Omicron and…"

"Mass!" Carolina shouted. She dropped into the room through a ventilation duct and aimed her weapon. Washington was quick to follow.

"Woah!" Tucker yelled. "Washington you came for us!" Washington looked over at the cell and casually pointed to it.

"Hey look… they're here, too," he muttered. All three in the cell sighed in unison. Mass grabbed the Chairman by the wrist and threw his arms out. He suddenly vanished, along with the Chairman. Then he reappeared in a doorway against the back of the room. The Chairman dropped to the floor, screaming in agony. Carolina quickly changed so her sights were now on Mass again.

"What did you just do to him?" Carolina demanded. Mass looked down at the Chairman, almost in wonder. Before tilting his head and looking back at Carolina.

"Oh," he started. "I almost forgot. I've been using my ability so long… it just seems natural."

"What?" Washington asked.

"Don't you get it?" Mass replied. "Every time I teleport, my molecular structure breaks apart, every single one of my cells shatters. I die, every single time I teleport, Wash. Then a new version of myself is created from all the discarded matter wherever I placed myself to land." Mass looked down at the Chairman again and shrugged. "I forgot it was the most painful experience of my life. Hmmph. Was."

"We get it, Mass!" Carolina yelled. "You've suffered pain. We all have! We were all abandoned by the Director, not just you! I wasn't a father just to you!" Mass looked at her and smirked.

"You would know, wouldn't you… sis?" He was silent and then shook his head. "No… maybe you wouldn't know." Suddenly he ripped the Chairman off the ground and took off down the hallway behind him. Carolina growled and chased after him.

"Wash!" she yelled. "Free those guys! I'll finish this!" Washington stopped in his path from the order and watched Carolina disappeared down the hallway, in pursuit. He looked to the side and saw Sarge and Donut pressed against the bars. The injured Tucker was still sitting on the floor. Washington slowly approached them and sighed.

"Hold tight," he ordered. "I'm gunna do this quick. I need to get to Carolina before she tries to fight Mass by herself!"

"What's the rush?" a voice asked. Washington froze in his tracks and slowly turned around. There was Mass, standing right behind him. Washington look to the hallway to see the door had now sealed shut. He was locked in this room with Mass. Washington reached for his gun, but Mass quickly swatted it away. Mass's hand shot out and grabbed Wash's throat, lifting him off the ground.

"Washington!" Tucker screamed.

"Look at you," Mass muttered. "A former freelancer, dropped down to being nothing more than Carolina's sidekick." Mass let go, letting Wash fall to his hands and knees. Anyone walking in would think he was bowing to Mass. "You used to be a leader, Washington. A commander. What have you become?" Washington coughed and shook his head.

"It didn't work out, Mass," Washington growled. Mass laughed and turned away, strolling back and forth.

"Ah, yes," he chuckled. "Your younger brother." Washington snapped his head up, staring right at his opponent. "Killed under your command? Wasn't he?" Washington pushed himself to his feet and clenched his fists.

"He disobeyed my order!" Washington yelled. "I told him to stand down!"

"Haha!" Mass shouted. "Like he was ever going to listen to someone as weak as you."

"He… he… deserved what happened to him," Washington said quietly. Mass turned away and closed his eyes.

"Deserved what happened to him?" he asked. "And what was that? Death?" Washington looked away, remembering every single detail of the last time he saw his brother alive. He slowly nodded, but suddenly he heard Mass click his tongue. He looked up to see Mass waving his finger. "On the contrary, dear Agent Washington. What if I told you you could see your brother again? Talk to him again, one last time?" Washington was grinded his teeth. Mass was lying.

"He's dead, Cass!" he shouted. "I was there! I saw everything!" Then Washington stopped and looked down at his weapon, lying helplessly on the floor. "Even if he was alive… I wouldn't want to see him. I don't know what I would say." Mass laughed again and lifted his arm. He pressed a button on his gauntlet and the room around him flashed some red lights for a moment. Suddenly another door began to unseal in the room, and slowly raise from its locked position. Washington stared in horror at it as Mass shook his head.

"That's just too bad, Wash. Because your brother is dying to see you." The door raised all the way to the top, showing nothing but pitch blackness behind it. Washington stared into the abyss. There was no way his brother was alive… not after all this time. The room fell to complete silence, not a single person watching dared to breathe. Suddenly a horrific sound filled the air around them. A growl like something you would hear from a monster. Footsteps began to ring out as something began to stomp its way out of the shadows. Washington fell to his knees, but kept his eyes locked on the passageway. A massive human frame appeared in the door as the monster within stepped out into the room. Washington could see himself in the reflection from that horrible bowl shaped visor that hid his brother's face. The man growled again and rolled his hands into fists.

"You two have a lot of catching up to do," Mass chuckled. "So I'll leave you to it. Oh… and Wash." Washington slowly turned his head to Mass. "This wasn't the only surprise in store for you… my friend. Watch and see. And let's just say I had a little help coming up with this nice little plan of mine." Mass suddenly vanished, leaving Washington alone with this demon.

"It… it can't be you," Washington spoke slowly. The man growled and took a deep breath. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, casting a radiance of red and orange on everything in the room. Sparks and particles spun in circles as they manifested themselves into the shape a small man. He stood in front of the massive monster and folded his arms.

"What's wrong, Agent Washington?" Sigma asked. "You look so surprised to see us again…"


	19. Chpt 19: When a Plan Comes Together

"Maine?" Washington asked quietly. "Sigma? How… I mean… how?" Maine growled loudly as he took another vicious step forward.

"Quite simple, Agent Washington," Sigma chimed in. "Agent Maine's suit was designed to prepare him for many harsh conditions. His helmet is pressurized, so when he was dragged to the bottom of that frozen ocean by their warthog," Sigma pointed at Sarge and the others in the cell, "his suit managed to keep him alive until he could escape."

"And what about you?" Washington asked. "I thought you were destroyed in the EMP." Sigma looked up at one of the cameras in the room and smiled.

"My programming sometimes calls for me to be creative, Agent Washington. Like Iota and Omicron, I also managed to adopt the Alpha's ability to leap into nearby mechanical objects. I used this to wire myself out of command just as the EMP went off, simply to preserve my own existence."

"And so you can be fused back into the Alpha?"

"That is indeed the plan. Together again. Quite the prospect, isn't it Agent Washington? An idea I hatched, based very much on my last… failed project." Sigma turned and looked at Maine, who kept his eyes locked on Washington. "However, we have been tasked with first removing you from this scenario, Washington. It will be another problem that Mass no longer has to worry about." Washington suddenly jumped to the side and snatched his rifle off the ground. He rolled to his feet and aimed his weapon at Maine.

"Then let's finish this!" he cried.

"Evasive action!" Sigma shouted as he disappeared. Maine leapt into action, diving out of the way of Washington's first assault. Bullets sparked off the metal floor in his wake. Maine skidded to a stop and repositioned himself to aim right at Washington. He pushed off his back foot and charged in. Washington fired again, sinking a bullet into Maine's thigh. He ignored the attack, like it never even happened. Maine rammed his shoulder into Washington, rocketing him backwards into a wall and denting the metal. Washington looked up and jumped to the side as Maine's fist smashed through the metal. Wash quickly threw a punch into Maine's visor, knocking the behemoth back. He jumped into the air and threw a kick, but Maine grabbed Wash's foot and stared into his eyes.

"Shit…" Wash muttered. Maine whipped around and slammed Washington into the ground. Washington rolled to his back and pulled out his pistol, but within a second Maine was kneeling on top of him, and snapped the gun out of his hand. Maine rolled his hand into a fist and punched Washington straight in the helmet. His growls got more and more vicious as he punched Washington again and again.

"C'mon, Washington!" Donut yelled. "Get up! Get him off you!"

"It's no use, men!" Sarge cried. "Wash is a goner unless someone gets in there and helps him!"

"But what can we do?" Donut asked him. "We don't have any weapons!" Tucker looked at the scene in front of him and shook his head.

"Washington," he said quietly. "C'mon… please." Maine lifted his hand again and brought it down to Washington's helmet, but this time he stopped. Wash's hand held his fist in place, suspended in the air. Wash brought his knees up to his chest and kicked Maine off of him, sending the monster flying backwards. Washington flipped onto his feet and charged inwards. Maine was just standing up when he took a shot across the visor. Then a knee to the chest and another uppercut to his jaw. Maine wheeled around, throwing his massive arm at Washington's head. Wash ducked underneath and unleashed another series of blows into Maine's midsection. Maine grabbed his stomach and stumbled back, but Washington stayed on him. Another shot to Maine's head, another blow to his chest, and another strike right in the stomach. Maine kept getting forced further and further back with each attack.

"Wow!" Donut screamed. "Get him, Wash!"

"Keep up the good work, soldier!" Sarge added. "Make your filthy colored army proud!" Washington continued to unload, letting out all of his pent up fury. His attacks started to happen less frequently, and lose their ferocity. Finally his rested, Maine embedded in the metal wall. A silence fell on the room as Washington took a step back, breathing heavily. Maine's head rolled around a few times, before quickly snapping into position, staring directly at Washington. He pushed himself off the wall, growling as his did. Maine strongly took another few steps forward, stretching out his shoulders as he did. Washington took another stepped back and winced in pain.

"Face it, Washington," Sigma spoke. "You are no match for Agent Maine. Resistance is nothing but a childish game… that you can never win." Maine got ready to lunge again, when another voice entered his head.

"Sigma, come in," Mass called over the headset. "Sigma!"

"Yes, Mass?" Maine stopped moving and relaxed, unable to completely focus when this other conversation was happening within his head.

"It's time, Sigma. Has Washington been dealt with?" Maine looked at Wash and sneered.

"Yes," Sigma replied. "It's just about over. I will report in immediately." There was another bright flash of red, as Sigma formed on Maine's shoulder. Maine looked at him and titled his head. "Yes, this is where we part, Agent Maine. Please, in my honor… think of a creative way to finish off Agent Washington." Maine growled and looked at his brother as Sigma suddenly vanished, his particles flowing through the air and disappearing into a series of electrical wires running along the wall. Washington watched Sigma flee and ran for the wires. Maine jumped in front of him and rammed his fist into Wash's chest. Washington flew backwards, crashing into the metal floor and skidding to a stop. Maine roared and walked towards the fallen freelancer, stalking him.

"Turn on you?" Washington asked. "You turned on me! You turned your back on Project Freelancer, Maine!" Maine stood over Washington, constantly releasing and regripping his fists. He growled again, quieter this time. Washington sighed and pushed himself to his hands and knees. "No… I mean…" Washington looked up at Maine and shook his head. "No… you're right…" Maine titled his head and watched Washington's every move, ready to attack at any moment. "I… I did turn my back on you. I was supposed to look out for you. Protect you. I… I tried." Maine suddenly reached down and grabbed Washington's throat, lifting him off the ground. Maine held Wash in the air and started to walk towards the wall. He pressed Washington's neck into the wall, pinning him in place.

"LIES!" Maine roared through gargles and clicks. Washington didn't even struggle against the pain anymore. He was limp, no spirit left in his body at all.

"When we took you in… my parents I mean… I promised them I would protect you. When we got older, I told them that Project Freelancer was the best way for you to excel, while still having me by your side." Maine got quieter, but his grip remained tight on Washington's throat. Getting air was becoming more and more difficult. "Imagine if they saw us now… what I… what I turned you into." Maine looked away from Washington and down at his own hand. He moved his fingers around, as if questioning his own humanity. "It was Sigma." Maine looked back up at Washington, before slowly letting go of him and letting him slide to the floor. Maine stepped back and shook his head. "Sigma put an end to who Agent Maine was. He drove you away. Made you into the Meta." Maine growled again and stepped towards his brother. He clenched his fists and continued to shake his head. Suddenly a siren went off in the room as a door at the other end began to open. Maine could hear footsteps on the others side. A lot of them, like an army of men were coming for them. Maine looked all around, assessing his exits. "Time's up, Maine." Maine looked down at Washington again and then at his pistol lying on the floor. Maine knelt down and picked up the pistol. He looked it over as he rotated it around in his hand. "The guards will never let us Freelancers get away. So just… just end it." Maine's head lifted up again, his gaze falling on his brother. He lifted the pistol and pointed it at Washington, slowly pressing his finger against the trigger. He growled, barely loud enough to be audible. But this didn't sound like it came from a monster… it sounded… almost sad… almost human. Washington nodded and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, too."

Carolina slowly made her way through the increasingly dark room in front of her. She checked each of her corners, ready to fire at a moment's notice. She could hear the inner workings of the prison as she got closer and closer to the Chairman's control hub, where guards could see live feed from everywhere in the prison. She eventually found herself in that main chamber, a large staircase was in front of her that led to a platform in the center of the massive room. Mass was standing on the platform, the Chairman tied up next to him, and the Engineer floating in midair close by. Carolina pointed her weapon at Mass and cocked it. Mass turned his head slightly as Carolina squeezed the trigger. The bullets tore through where he used to be and bored into the opposing wall. Carolina spun around as Mass slammed his fist into her. She blocked it with her rifle, but the impact shattered the weapon like it was glass. Carolina still flew back from the impact, but managed to stay on her feet, skidding to a stop. She ran in again and threw two more punches, which Mass knocked out of the way, before grabbing her wrist and throwing her to the ground, like she was just an out of control child. Mass grunted and started to make his way up the stairs.

"You're too late, little Carolina," he mocked. "The Engineer already has the Alpha set up for repairs. Omicron, Sigma, and your precious Iota have all been reintegrated." Carolina pushed herself up and ran to the stairs. Mass reached the platform and slammed his boot down onto the ground, making the stairs collapse in front of the teal freelancer. She stopped and looked up at him.

"Ryan, don't do this!" she yelled. "This isn't what the Director wanted!" Mass laughed and threw his arms into the air.

"You still think that's what this is about?!" he asked. Mass ripped his helmet off and held it in the air in front of him. He threw it away, letting it slam down on the ground in front of Carolina. He reached up to the back of his head and screamed in agony. Mass tore the chip out of the back of his head with a spurt of blood and a shower of blue sparks. Mass fell to one knee as small bolts of lightning ripped around his body and slowly faded away. Mass's eyes were slammed shut, but soon they relaxed, followed be a small smile on his face. He slowly got to his feet and turned around, grabbing something off the table in front of him. It was another helmet, gray with red trim, ODST style. Mass fixed it down onto his head, cause his armor to suddenly begin changing. Additional pieces began to fire out and form around his shoulders, chest, gauntlets, and thighs, but still leaving his horrible scarred arm visible. The pieces of armor were all gray, but with distinct symbols carved into them. Mass turned back to Carolina and held his arms out wide. "This was never his vision, Carolina! This was mine!" Mass's visor flashes as his suit came online again, sinking it from the original yellow tint to a deep red. Carolina stepped back and pointed her finger at Mass.

"You… you were with the Insurrection?!" she screamed. Mass laughed again and folded his arms.

"Look who's finally cluing in! You really think after how the Director betrayed me, I would just go crawling back to him like the rest of you idiots! Not only did he wipe me from all the scoreboards when I was 'KIA,' he replaced me with you! That's why he really wanted me out of the picture. He wanted you in the spotlight! But he knew I would never let that happen. So what did he do? He tried to sabotage me! Gave me an armor ability that almost shuts down my system every time I use it. An AI that encompassed all the pain the Alpha had ever felt. Pain that the Director inflicted, himself!" Mass wheeled around and threw Beta's chip to the Engineer. He snatched it out of the air and quickly inserted it into the device in front of him. Mass grinned as the device began to glow as the room filled with hundreds of clicks from the Engineer. Carolina had enough, she knelt down and leapt into the air, landing behind Mass on the platform. She loaded up a massive punch and leaned in for the attack, but right before it connected, Mass snapped around and smashed the back of his hand into Carolina's head. She flew to the side and into a series of screens showing video feed from the prison. Sparks and fire erupted from them as she collapsed to the ground. Mass slowly approached her and cracked his knuckles.

"You're pathetic, Carolina," he muttered. "You could just never accept that I was better than you." Mass looked at his hand, which now held the Alpha's new and completed AI within. Mass smiled and tossed it in the air, before catching it again. "Now… you will never even stand a chance." Carolina looked up as Mass lifted his boot into the air, preparing to stomp down on her. Then she saw it, a shadow form behind him. Mass saw it in the reflection on her visor, someone behind him. He spun around as a fist slammed into his jaw. Mass flew off the side of the platform and crashed onto the ground. He opened his eyes just as Maine leapt off the platform and smashed down in front of him.

"Meta!" Mass yelled. "What are you doing?!" Maine ran forward and drove his boot into Mass's chest, punting him into the air. He caught Mass's leg on the way up and slammed him back down into the ground. Mass's chest dented the metal floor and he clenched his fist in anger. He lifted his hand and slammed his fist down, smashing the floor even further. He pushed himself to his feet and turned to face his opponent. Maine growled and clenched his fists in anger. "You just love backstabbing people, don't you, Meta?" Maine stepped to the side as Washington walked up behind him, assault rifle in his hands.

"It's over, Mass!" Maine reached over his shoulder and grabbed something on his back. He pulled out his knifle and held it firmly at his side. Mass stared at it, and then back up at his face.

"Where…" he started.

"I little gift mother fucker!" Grif shouted. He ran into the room, alongside Simmons, Sarge, Donut, Caboose, Doc, Sister, Junior, the Zealot, and Lopez. They all stood in a line behind Washington and Maine. Mass stood there, one man facing eleven.

"We also made a little pitstop," Sarge added, happily. Two more figures emerged from the shadows and stood with the ground. Four-Seven-Niner and Rhodes stood, there weapons at the ready. Mass sighed and looked upwards. Carolina was there, standing tall on the platform above them all. Mass simply chuckled and held his arms out to the side.

"So this is it, huh, Caroline?" Mass asked. "Me versus your own personal army?" Carolina jumped down, landing in the front of the group.

"One of us isn't leaving here alive, Cass," she grunted. "And I think we all know who's outmatched here." Mass dropped his arms and titled his head.

"Do we, really?" he asked sarcastically. He turned his head to the side and spoke quietly. "Who do you think she's talking about?" There was a bright flash of white light as 1s and 0s erupted from Mass's helmet and flew all around. The circled his head, getting increasingly brighter as they went. Then they slowly assimilated into the shape of a small human, who stood right next to Mass's head.

"I'm not sure, Mass," Alpha spoke quietly. "I guess she was talking about you." Mass looked back at Carolina, who's eyes widened under her helmet. Mass slowly shook his head and spoke slowly.

"No," he whispered. "There's no way they thought this was the end of me." There was another bright flash, as the shape of another man formed next to Mass's head. Then another, and another. Soon Mass was standing with six small figures floating around his head. He looked down at his hand as he balled it into a fist. "So," he spoke as he slowly turned his head back to the group in front of him. "Who's going first?"


	20. Chpt 20: The Final Countdown

The Chairman struggled against the high-tech restraints that held his arms and legs together. He viciously tried to free himself, but to no avail. He knew something big was happening, but couldn't managed to get a view on anything. Then he looked up just as a soft blue tentacle wriggled down from above and danced over his hands. The Engineer sank down in front of him, observing his wrists with its many jet black eyes. The Chairman stared wondrously at it, before looked down at the handcuffs.

"Can you help me?" he asked. "Please?" The Engineer clicked a few times and looked into the Chairman's eyes, before lowering back down to observe the restraints. He waved his tentacle over them as small blue sparks shot all around. Suddenly the lights on the handcuffs vanished and they fell to the floor. The Engineer repeated the process, freeing the Chairman's feet. He pushed himself up on the platform, looking down at the massive group of soldiers below him. He gulped and turned to the huge set of monitors next to him. He ran to the control panel and slammed his hand down on a button. The panel wined and hummed as a radio signal was sent out through space. Within seconds, a response came back.

"This is the Mother of Invention," the man spoke back. "Respond."

"This is the Chairman," he quickly replied. "Execute plan Titan, effective immediately." There was a silence, and the man over the radio said absolutely nothing. "Do you copy?!"

"Chairman… are you sure?" he asked. "We might be able to handle whatever problem you're having down there with units. An orbital strike on your own prison surely can't be…"

"I have every remaining freelancer inside this base, with possession of extremely powerful AI units!" the Chairman interrupted. "I'm the one who funded the rebuild of that ship you're piloting, Captain! If you want to keep it, you'll obey!" Another silence.

"Very well," he slowly replied. "Orbital strike inbound on the coordinates of your facility. Impact will be in five." The Chairman nodded and pressed another button on the panel, which caused the base to flash with blue lights and continually replay the word "Evacuate!" Mass ignored the sirens, knowing exactly what they meant. He leapt off his back foot, lunging towards the group. Halfway there he vanished, before reappearing between Grif and Simmons. He threw his arms apart, smashing them away. He quickly turned and dodged a slash from Maine's weapon, before expertly leaning out of the way of Washington's bullets. Mass grabbed Wash's chest plate and ripped him to the side, throwing him into Maine and knocking both to the ground.

"BLARG!" Junior screamed. He jumped at Mass, his massive frame bearing down on the freelancer. Mass teleported again as Junior crashed into the ground.

"The base!" Carolina screamed to Wash, as he pushed himself to his feet. "The base is going critical! We need to get clear of this place!" Mass suddenly appeared in front of her and wrapped his hands around her throat.

"Really?" he asked. He launched her away, making her slam into the wall and imprint into the metal. Mass quickly whipped out a pistol and took aim at her. "How are you going to do that?" Mass then spun around and fired four shots. Sister stepped forward as a splash of blue fell across the floor. She looked down as Junior's body started to buckle and then fell flat on the ground.

"Junior!" she screamed.

"Oh, shit!" Grif cried. "Our pilot's down!"

"Not yet!" Four-Seven-Niner replied. She leapt over Junior and threw a punch at Mass, knocking the pistol from his hand. She kicked him in the chest, making him fall to his back. Mass quickly flipped back onto his feet as the Alphas all appeared around his head.

"Nice moves, Arkansas," he complimented. "But let's see what my new toys let me do." Suddenly he vanished, before reappearing directly next to her and slamming his forearm into her helmet, shattering her visor. Before the attack was even over, he was gone again. He reappeared next to Carolina, grabbing her leg and whipping her towards the platform above. Mass teleported up to the platform, smashing his boot into the flying Carolina and knocking her back down onto the floor. He jumped off the platform, before zapping down and landing on top of her, sending out a ring of smoke from the impact.

"Incoming!" the Alphas cried. "Incoming! On your left! Watch out! Target detected!" Mass shook his head as voices crowded his brain. When he came to, Rhodes was standing next to him, his hammer completely wound up. Rhodes swung at Mass like a baseball, making him careen upwards and crash into the ceiling, shattered several fluorescent lights in the process. Mass gripped some wires on the ceiling behind him to told himself in place, before vanishing again. Mass reappeared in front of Doc, ramming his elbow in his chest and snatching the rocket launcher off his shoulders. He spun around and fired at Wash and Maine. The two jumped separate ways, dodging the shot. Maine landed, but turned to see Mass aiming at him again. Mass fired, but Maine quickly aimed his weapon at the floor and shot a grenade. The explosion knocked the rocket off course, making it crash into the computer monitors and shower the group in yellow sparks. The console erupted into flames, which quickly began to spread.

"Impact in three minutes!" the speakers announced. Washington looked up and shook his head.

"Sarge!" he yelled. Sarge looked to him, his shotgun at the ready. "Get your team onto the ship and get the hell out of here! Take Four-Seven-Niner! She can pilot anything!"

"What about you?!" he asked.

"We'll hold him off! Just get out of here!"

"Don't have to tell me twice," Donut commented.

"Excellent view on the situation, Donut!" Sarge agreed. "Men! We're leaving!"

"No!" Grif yelled. "We can't just abandon them, Sarge!"

"What are you crazy?!" Sarge asked. "We're no use here, Grif. Especially not you. Now this is an order. Get your keister in the ship on the double!" Grif pulled out his assault rifle and looked at Mass.

"You go if you want to, Sarge," he replied. "I'm staying here!" Sarge tilted his head and put out his arms.

"But… but Grif…"

"No buts, Sarge! I finally got my ass into gear, like you always wanted. I put together a team to save you, and save Washington. I'm not leaving this mission unfinished! If you want to leave, then I hope you guys get clear in time." Grif cocked his gun and got ready to run in. "And… it was a pleasure to serve under your command, Sarge." Grif ran in, firing his weapon at Mass. Mass dropped his rocket launcher and put up his arms, shielding his helmet from the barrage. Grif continued to lay into him, not giving Mass an inch. Mass took a step back as Sister joined in, firing wildly in his direction. Soon Lopez formed in as well, as the three unloaded on Mass. Mass ground his teeth together as he fell to one knee.

"Yeah, take it!" Sister yelled. "Take this load!"

"Yeah!" Grif yelled. "Wait.. wh…" Suddenly Mass disappeared. The barrage of bullets started to bury into the floor, instead of sparking off of Mass's armor. Grif and the others let up and stared at where he had been. "What?"

"Gruff!" Caboose cried. "There's a big scary man behind you!" Grif spun around as Mass's fist collided with his stomach. He keeled over in pain, grabbing his gut. Mass threw a kick into Sister, smashing her backwards onto the floor. Then he grabbed Lopez's shoulder and pulled him in, while simultaneously ramming his fist into his head. Lopez's head shot off his body in an explosion of wires and sparks. It bounced across the ground and landed in Doc's lap, who sat on the ground, shaking off his last hit. He picked up Lopez's head and looked at it.

"Hey, old buddy," he commented. "Boy… this is familiar, huh?"

"Te odio [I hate you]" he muttered back. Mass leaned down and grabbed Grif's throat. He lifted him off the ground and held him in the air in front of him.

"This is what you call an army?" he asked. He started to grip Grif's throat tighter. Grif couldn't breathe anymore, and he could feel himself starting to pass out. "Pathetic. Just like you. Just like their Sergeant."

"You rang?" Sarge asked. Mass turned his head just in time to get a chest-full of lead from Sarge's shotgun. He shot backwards into more computer terminals on the wall, making them erupt into flames as well, which added to the heat of the room. Sarge fired again, this time pinging off of Mass's helmet and knocking him to his knees. Mass growled and clenched his hand into a fist. He ran forward and launched his arm towards Sarge. However, his fist stopped in midair. He opened his eyes to see Maine holding his fist in place. Mass threw his other arm forward, which Maine caught as well. The two wrestled against one another, neither giving an inch. An unstoppable force colliding with an immovable object.

"You're strong, Maine," Mass complimented through grunts. Maine growled and nodded. "But I have more on my side than just strength." Suddenly, bolts of blue lightning shot from Mass's armor and creeped into Maine's helmet. Maine let go of Mass and gripped the sides of his visor. He roared in agony as he stepped back and shook violently. Mass threw his arms into the air as the blue lightning erupted out of his suit and snaked around the room. It crawled into everyone's armor, immediately subjecting them to extreme pain. The entire group convulsed in agony and grabbed at their helmets. Mass laughed in amusement, when another announcement came online.

"Impact in one minute!" it screamed. Suddenly, Mass's head lit up with warnings again.

"Danger! Impact imminent! Get outside the blast radius! Flee!" Mass fell to his knees, tearing at the sides of his helmet. The others in the room stopped shaking, as the pain in their heads started to disappear.

"Shut up!" Mass cried. "Shut up all of you!" Carolina used this moment to run up to the kneeling Mass. She loaded up a kick and punted Mass like a football. He flew backwards, smashing through the wall behind him and collapsing on the floor in the next room. He shook off the attack and got to his hands and knees. He looked up, seeing the exit to the prison in the next room. His ship sat in the hangar, waiting to be taken. Mass went to teleport, but his armor sparked and nothing happened.

"Teleportation unit damaged!" Alpha cried. "In need of repairs. Cannot teleport at this time!" Mass jumped to his feet and stumbled around while crying in agony.

"Stop!" he yelled. "Make it stop! Make it stop!" He made his way forward and eventually started running towards the ship.

"Stop him!" Washington yelled. "We can't let him get away!" The entire group followed in pursuit as Mass made his way to the hangar. Bullets rained around him as the group fired away, trying to slow his progress. Mass got to the ship and reached onto his belt, snapping off three grenades and pulling the pins out of each. He threw them backwards, all three landing in the doorway between the rooms. They erupted, shattering the frame and making the wall collapse between Mass and the group. They stopped at the obstruction, hearing Mass firing up the engines of his ship. Carolina and Rhodes started grabbing debris, but it was taking far too long. There was too much.

"He's escaping!" Grif yelled. "What do we do?" Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Maine pushed him out of the way and stood about ten feet from the obstruction. He growled loudly before charging forward and ramming his shoulder into the debris. It shuttered, but didn't clear. Maine backed up again, and charged into the debris a second time. Maine backed up, now breathing heavily. He just wasn't powerful enough alone to take it down. He stood there, staring at the rubble. He started to load up for a third attack, when someone tapped him on the back. He turned around and growled at the individual behind him.

"Hello," Caboose said happily. The two stepped back and charged at the debris, smashing through it and creating a path for the others. They got into the hangar just in time to see Mass's ship leaving the ground and heading out of the prison. Washington looked to the side, seeing a row of jetpacks lined up in the hangar. He quickly ran for them, grabbing several. He took one, gave on to Maine, one to Rhodes, one to Four-Seven-Niner and one to Carolina.

"We have to chase after him!" Wash yelled. He turned to Grif and threw his arms up. "Where's your ship?!" Then, on cue, a hailstorm of bullets began raining down on Mass's ship. The engines started to smoke and then ignited. Black smoke billowed from the ship as it started spinning wildly. Junior's ship dropped down into view.

"Hell yeah!" Tucker cried. "Take that you son of a bitch!"

"See?" Grif said to Sarge. "I told you keeping him around would help." Sarge grunted and shook his head.

"He's still just a dirty…" Carolina ran in and tackled the two out of the way as Mass's ship crashed back into the hangar. His body fell from the rubble and slammed onto the floor. Pieces of his armor were scratched and dented, while sparks shot from his helmet every now and again. He shook his head as he coughed while he pushed himself up.

"Well there you go," he said quietly. "Now we all die, Carolina." He laughed a few times, slowly getting to his feet. "Born together as freelancers… die together as freelancers." Carolina quickly pointed to Junior's ship and cried out.

"Everyone on board, now!" She spun around and snatched the hammer from Rhodes. She took two huge steps forward, before launching it like a javelin towards Mass. It slammed into his chest, smashing him back into the debris of his own ship. The impact rattled the entire building. Mass looked up as the fire-covered ceiling shattered to pieces and collapsed down on top of him. He put his hands up just as he disappeared underneath the rubble. The group ran for the dropship, which Tucker lowered just close enough for them to get on board. Grif climbed on first, before helping the others get on.

"Impact in twenty seconds!" the speakers cried.

"I didn't know you could fly this," Sister said to Tucker.

"Pfft," Tucker muttered. "It's a family thing now. Speaking of which, where's Junior?"

"Hurt!" Donut yelled as he and Simmons dragged Junior's massive body onto the ship. "But he'll make it. I gave him some intense tender, loving care." Four-Seven-Niner ran to the front and nudged Tucker's chair out of the way.

"Hold on everyone!" she screamed. "Time for a speedy getaway!" The rest of the group piled on just as the ship left the ground. They slowly started lifting away from the base. Washington leaned out and looked up into the sky, seeing a bright green light shining in the distance, preparing to rain hell down on the area.

"Hurry up!" he yelled.

"We can clear the blast radius just in time!" Carolina yelled. "Everyone just hold on!"

"Fear not my comrads!" the Zealot cried. "The flag will guide us to victory! Even if we die, we will be wrapped in its flappy embrace for eternity!" The group turned to him as he stood at the back of the ship. They shook their heads as his happily jumped around. Then they watched as two hands formed around his helmet, which grabbed his head and violently snapped it around. The Zealot collapsed onto the floor, completely motionless.

"What?!" Washington screamed. Mass stepped out of the shadows of the ship and cracked his neck in anticipation.

"Had enough juice for one more jump," he chuckled. He reached down to his side and unstrapped his knife from his leg. "That's all I'll need."

"Impact in ten second!" Four-Seven-Niner screamed from the front. "We're just about out of the radius!" Mass walked forward and Carolina ran to him. Before she should make it Mass smashed his hand into her chest, crashing her into the ground. He ripped the pistol off of her side and held it up. Firing it three times. Two sparked off the wall, but the third flew straight past the entire group, before sinking into Rhodes's chest. Rhodes fell backwards and put a hand over the wound. He forced himself up against the wall, fighting back the pain. Blood trailed through his fingers and dripped onto the floor below.

"NO!" Washington screamed. He charged at Mass, but was caught by the throat in midair. Mass held him firmly in place and started to work towards crushing his windpipe. Washington struggled against his grip, but couldn't make any ground. Mass snickered, holding Washington in one hand, while pinning Carolina to the ground with his foot.

"Worthless," he muttered. Suddenly Washington flew from his grip as Mass was tackled backwards. Maine slammed into Mass, knocking the villain to the ground. Maine quickly strapped on the jetpack he took from the base and charged it up.

"Maine?" Wash asked from the floor. Maine looked at him for a moment, a still silence falling over the group. "Wait…" Maine nodded to Wash and then turned back to Mass. He ran forward again, crashing into Mass and tackling him out the back of the ship. "MAINE!" Maine fell through the air, holding Mass tightly in his arms. Mass threw punch after punch into Maine's head, shattering his visor into a spiderweb of broken glass. Maine held strong as the jetpack powered on, thrusting the two back towards the prison. "VAN, NO!" Washington ran for the back of the ship, but Carolina grabbed his leg, holding him back. Washington fell to the floor, still trying to claw his way out of the ship. Mass and Maine crashed back into the hangar, sinking deeply into the metal floor. They both laid motionless on the ground for a moment, before the two monsters started crawling to their knees. Mass got up first and looked down at his gauntlet. He typed furiously onto it, but his armor simply sparked, and didn't respond.

"Alpha!" he yelled. "Get me out of here!" The six Alphas appeared in front of Mass, looking down on him. They suddenly all combined into one Alpha, before it slowly shook its head. "But… but you were supposed to be unstoppable. A completed Alpha! The thing the Director truly wanted for his troops." Alpha looked back up at the ship as it flew away into the distance.

"I'm not complete, Cass," he spoke quietly. "I… have never felt complete." Mass dropped to silence, before turning his head and looking at the wreckage behind him. He saw his destroyed ship, sitting right where he left it, and in the rubble was the capture unit Four-Seven-Niner had taken from Valhalla. His eyes widened and he turned back to the Alpha.

"Allison…" he said quietly. The Alpha suddenly vanished and disappeared into the air. Mass's eyes locked onto Maine as he clumsily got to his feet. "So you did it, huh? Mission accomplished?" Maine steadied his stance, but dropped back down to his knees. Maine was extremely shaken, and everything in his view was splitting into twos and fours. "You think this will 'redeem' you or something? You'll always be remembered as a monster, Maine! Just like me!" Maine slowly reached up and grabbed the sides of his helmet. He pulled it off and dropped it to the ground. The bottom of his face was horribly scarred and mangled, and he still had the Meta tattoo on the back of his head. He opened his eyes, which were a deep blue, and stared right at Mass. He used all of his focus and strength to force a sound out of his mouth. Buried within the gargles and growls, there were two very distinct words…

"Fuck you." From the ship, the group watched as a massive green laser tore through the air and smashed into the prison. Rock and metal disintegrated into nothingness and a massive crater began to form in the soil. The ship started to buck and spin as Four-Seven-Niner fought to regain control. Washington fell to his knees as the laser slowly stopped and left nothing but a barren wasteland and a plume of black smoke. Washington stared out over the landscape, not saying a word, and not even blinking. Doc was kneeling next to Rhodes, tending to his wounds, before moving on to try and help Junior. There was nothing in the ship but a stunned silence.

"He's gone," Washington said quietly. Carolina knelt next to him and nodded. "My brother… the person I grew up with." Carolina sighed, and couldn't help feel that same sadness along with him. All those memories, all those emotions, wiped away in a massive green flash.

"Yeah," she replied. Washington looked over at her and took a deep breath. "I know, Wash." She looked at the ground and shook her head. "I know."

Sarge walked up to Grif, his arms folded. Grif looked up at him and stood straight in attention.

"Sir?" he asked.

"Grif… you are by far the laziest, filthiest, most-disrespectful, and straight up ugliest individual I know!" he yelled. "Always been true!" Grif sighed and looked away. He folded his arms and looked towards the ground.

"Yeah… I know, Sarge." Sarge reached his hand up and patted Grif on the shoulder. Grif looked back at him as Sarge nodded in approval.

"Good work, soldier. I am, and have always been, proud to be your Sergeant." Grif smiled and nodded back to him. "Now! Let's get to work on getting these soldiers fixed up and ready for the field again! Especially Lopez! We need him! The alien… well we'll see what happens." Grif laughed and looked at Simmons.

"Yes, sir," he said cheerfully as he walked towards Rhodes. Simmons sighed and shook his head.

"Kiss ass," he muttered.

Caboose sat up front with Tucker and Four-Seven-Niner, looking out the windshield of the ship. There was nothingness in front of them. Just a vast expanse of black space and stars.

"So that's it, huh?" Tucker asked. Caboose looked at him, wondrously. "Church is really gone this time. No bullshit." Caboose shook his head and looked back at the windshield.

"No," he replied.

"What? Caboose, he was destroyed by a giant laser beam that breaks down matter into atoms!" Caboose nodded and leaned back.

"Yeah, that'll happen sometimes. I hate when that happens to me. Church will know what I mean when I tell him. He'll be at the base waiting for us, right?" Tucker sat forward, about to argue more, but instead sighed and lowered his head. He looked out the windshield as well and then slowly nodded.

"Yeah, Caboose." Caboose perked up in happiness and stared into space, like he couldn't wait to get home. "Church will be with us, Caboose. Always."


End file.
